Ponce helps Tech boys shine at Falcon Invitational
Martin Ponce might have felt a little lonely at the finish line Saturday.
The Tech senior breezed to the individual title in the boys junior-senior race of the Falcon Invitational at Foothill and helping the Roadrunners win the team crown.
Ponce finished the 3.1-mile race in 16 minutes, 36.3 seconds. Desert Oasis’ Frankie Martinez was second in 17:02.2.
Ponce’s effort, and top-10 finishes from Miguel Garcia (fifth in 17:21.2) and Garrett Meyer (10th in 18:05.3), helped the Roadrunners to a team score of 48. Palo Verde was second with 72, followed by Desert Oasis with 94.
Boulder City’s Chandler Harkins finished third in 17:13.3, just ahead of Palo Verde’s Andrew Goldsmith, who took fourth in 17:14.5.
In the boys freshmen-sophomore race, Palo Verde’s Noah Landers recorded the day’s fastest time of 16:16.3, but it wasn’t enough to keep Coronado from winning the team crown.
Behind a second-place finish from Colin Schaefer (16:33.3) and a fourth-place effort from Xavier Cummins (17:43.8), the Cougars had a team score of 45. Palo Verde was second with 68, and an Australian Select team was third at 113.
Australia’s Matthew Newton finished third in 17:41.1.
Palo Verde swept the girls titles, with Marissa Suan winning the junior-senior race in 19:19.3 and Kate Vanderstelt hitting the finish line first in the freshmen-sophomore race in 20:52.1.
The Panthers had a team score of 37 in the junior-senior race and had four of the top five finishers in the race. Desert Oasis, buoyed by a second-place effort from Brooke Locey in 20:24, was second with 85, followed by Coronado with 96.
Palo Verde’s Samantha Reintjes was third in 20:36.9, ahead of teammates Carolina Cleland (21:13.4) and Bailey Dunlap (21:18.6).
Palo Verde had three of the top four finishers in the freshmen-sophomore race. The Panthers’ Tori Landers was second in 21:22.9. Coronado’s Jessica Attebury was third in 21:42.3, and Palo Verde’s Kelsey Lamph took fourth in 21:45.
The Panthers had a team score of 27. Coronado was second with 59, followed by Foothill with 65 and Shadow Ridge with 71.