Foothill’s Williams stays hot, wins Falcon Invitational

Erica Williams continued her outstanding cross country season Saturday.

The Foothill junior won her third race of the year, taking first place on her home course in the Falcon Invitational.

Williams won the 3.1-mile junior-senior race in 20 minutes, 29.6 seconds, nearly 25 seconds ahead of her nearest competition. Durango's Leticia Salazar-Sandoval was second in 20:53.2.

Williams often was the Falcons' No. 2 or 3 runner last season, but has taken over the top spot since former teammate Karina Haymore transferred to Centennial.

She finished first in a five-team cluster meet on Sept. 2 and followed that up with another victory in a five-team meet on Sept. 9. She finished seventh in the large-school race of the Las Vegas Invitational on Sept. 12.

Williams' effort helped the Falcons to a third-place finish in the junior-senior race.

Coronado, led by Megan Denter's third-place finish in 21:04.5, won the team title with 42 points. Green Valley was second with 52, followed by the Falcons with 65 and Shadow Ridge with 115.

In the freshmen-sophomore race, Centennial had three of the top nine finishers to win the team competition with 39 points. Foothill was second with 83, followed by Shadow Ridge (100) and an Australian select team (103).

The Meadows' Ellen Hirsberg won a close race, finishing in 20:39.5. Centennial's McKenzie Morgan was second in 20:40.4, and Green Valley's Mia Smith took third in 20:56.7.

Green Valley swept the boys team titles.

The Gators held off Basic in the junior-senior race, scoring 53 points to the Wolves' 65. Coronado was a distant third with 136.

In the freshmen-sophomore race, Green Valley had 69 points. Pahrump Valley was second with 116, followed by Basic (146) and Coronado (150).

The Gators' Austin Rogers won the junior-senior race in 16:08.1. Faith Lutheran's Chase Wood was second in 16:15.7, and Centennial's Dominic Roberts was third in 16:44.9.

Pahrump's Bryce Odegard won his fourth race in the last two weeks, taking the freshmen-sophomore event in 16:39.7. Odegard also finished first in the Las Vegas Invitational small-school race on Sept. 12, a 10-team meet at Boulder City on Sept. 16 and the Moapa Valley Invitational on Sept. 19.

Green Valley's Milton Amezcua was second in 17:09.8, and teammate Jesus Narciso took third in 17:11.2.