By Going Out With Leaders, Fleshman Comes In Second

FRESNO —  If you want to run with the elite, you’ve got to go out with the elite.

Canyon High cross-country Coach Dave DeLong preached that mantra to Cowboy junior Lauren Fleshman in the days leading up to the state cross-country championships at Woodward Park on Saturday and Fleshman got the message by posting a second-place finish in the girls’ Division I race.

Senior Elaine Canchola won her second title in three years and Nordhoff took third place in the Division IV race, and junior Kim Garnic finished eighth in the Division III race to pace La Canada to an upset victory.

Fleshman, sixth in the state Division II final last year, usually goes out conservatively and reels in the runners ahead of her. This time she pushed it early and timed 17:54 over the 5,000-meter course, only behind junior Trina Cox of Santa Rosa, who clocked 17:46.

“We talked about going hard for the first mile instead of running people down at the end because the elite runners don’t come back to you at this level,” DeLong said.

Cox and Yucaipa senior Kimi Welsh were co-favorites, but Fleshman came through one mile in 5:31 along with Cox and Welsh.

Seniors Yvonne Liebig of Sacramento Kennedy and Jennifer Burris of Chino Hills Ayala led at one mile in 5:29, but Cox had a four-second lead over Fleshman when she passed two miles in 11:25.

Fleshman seemed to be fatigued at that point, but held on to beat third-place Welsh by five seconds and cut 24 seconds off her previous best at Woodward Park.

“I decided that I was really going to go for it,” Fleshman said. “I knew that I could run with them and they were going to be as tired as me. I knew that they would be hurting just as much as I would if we went out too fast.”

Senior Danielle Day was 11th in 18:38 to help Quartz Hill finish fourth with 136 points, and North Hollywood freshman Natalie Stein placed 13th in 18:53.

Yucaipa won its third consecutive title--the previous two in Division II--with 41 points, followed by Anaheim Esperanza with 92 and Ayala with 115. City Section champion Birmingham was 11th at 268.

Canchola fought off the effects of a cold to win the Division IV title in 18:19 and sophomore teammate Rae Stumbough finished sixth in 19:00, but the Rangers couldn’t win a third consecutive title.

Costa Mesa was third behind Nordhoff and Corona del Mar in the Southern Section championships Nov. 22, but the Mustangs placed four runners among the top 15 on their way to a 51-80 victory over top-ranked Campolindo. Nordhoff was third with 81 points.

La Canada beat El Modena, 95-108, for the Division III title.

Garnic, fourth in the state Division IV final last year, clocked 18:55 with freshman teammate Nicole Bonino 14th in 19:09.

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FRESNO AT A GLANCE

How regional cross-country standouts fared in the state championships at Woodward Park in Fresno:

Lauren Fleshman, Canyon High

Junior finished second in girls’ Division 1 race, timing at 17:54 over the 5,000 meter course.

Elaine Canchola, Nordhoff High

The senior won her second title in three years in Division IV, timing 18:19 and fighting a cold.

Kim Garnic, La Canada High

A junior, she finished eighth and paced her team to an upset victory in Division III over El Modena.

Victor Ochoa, Nordhoff High

In the Division IV championships, the senior finished second and led the Rangers to the team title.

Dusty Herman, Nordhoff High

Along with teammate Matthew Torres, he completed the 2-3-4 team finish for the Rangers.