Centennial’s Williams third in Las Vegas Invitational

If Saturday’s Las Vegas Invitational is any indication, Centennial’s Nathan Williams is picking up speed.

The junior was third of 176 finishers in the large school race at Veterans Memorial Park, competing the 3.1-mile race in 17 minutes, 16 seconds.

Rancho Buena Vista (Calif.) senior Collin Jarvis won the race in 16:50. His teammate, Chris Brewer was second in 17:10.

Williams stayed on the leaders’ heels for the first mile. He seemed pleased with his race and expressed confidence that his best racing for this season was ahead of him.

Williams has been a slow starter in cross country due to his heavy bike racing regimen in the summer. This was only his second real race of the season.

Buoyed by Jarvis’ and Brewer’s finishes, Rancho Buena Vista won the team title with a score of 51. Long Beach Poly (Calif.) was second with 73.

Arbor View was the best Las Vegas area team, placing fourth with 196 points, four better than Centennial.

Shadow Ridge’s Sam Mahar (17:25) and Liberty’s Al Galen (17:26) both finished strong, passing a number of California runners in the last mile to finish sixth and eighth, respectively.

In the small school boys race, Boulder City junior Taylor Clifford took sixth in 18:21 to help the Eagles place third as a team.

Hurricane (Utah) won the meet with a score of 31. Buena Park (Calif.) took second with 55. Boulder City had a score of 86, followed by Faith Lutheran at 91.

Chino Valley (Calif.) senior Larry Hermance won the race in 17:08.