Dort, Cougars extend Sunrise streaks

Sara Dort was in the fourth grade the last time Coronado lost a Sunrise Region girls cross country championship.

The petite Cougars junior retained her region title with an easy victory on the 3.1-mile course, leading Coronado to the team crown Friday at Veterans Memorial Park in Boulder City.

Running the first mile in 6 minutes, 2 seconds in cold, windy conditions, Dort led from the start and was never challenged, finishing in 20:08.4, well ahead of runner-up Jessica Raymond (20:51.6) from Basic.

"It was hard, but it was great," Dort said. "The wind didn't bother me that much; I'm small."

Rounding out the top five were Coronado's Logan Lucas (21:01.2) and Foothill's Ryanne Bailey (21:01.8) and Alyse Vanek (21:03.5).

The Cougars placed all five scoring runners in the top 10 for a team total of 28 points. Foothill was second with 65 and Green Valley third with 72, and they will join Coronado at the state meet Nov. 3 at Veterans Memorial Park.

It was a good day for Coronado coach Mark Tondryk, whose boys also won the Sunrise title.

"The girls ran well," he said. "They did what they've been doing all season."

Joining Dort and Raymond as individual state qualifiers were Basic's Alexandra Acosta and Megan McCarthy, Valley's Eyerusalem Betemariam and Liberty's Kayla Herrera.

In the Sunset, Centennial repeated as champions, led by dominating performances by Sydney Badger and Katie Gorczyca. The Bulldogs (43) outscored Arbor View (61) and Palo Verde (79).

Badger not only ran the fastest time of the day in 18:50.2, it also was the fastest time on the course since Mel Lawrence of Reno ran 18:22.5 at the 2006 state meet and the first time a Southern Nevada girl has run sub-19 minutes on the course.

"I was ready for this," Badger said. "We've (Gorczyca) trained really hard for this all season. I wanted to break 19, and I finally did it, so I'm happy with that."

Gorczyca placed second in 19:15.6, a personal best on the course. Marissa Suan of Palo Verde was third in 19:59.4, followed by Arbor View's Zanae Jones (20:35.9) and Centennial's Arden Holden (20:49.2).

The Sunset's five individual state qualifiers were Shadow Ridge's Clara Jackson, Cimarron-Memorial's Julianna Brooks and Tiana Callejo, Bonanza's Emily Adams and Desert Oasis' Brooke Locey.

The girls Division I-A Southern Region race was dominated by Faith Lutheran, which won with 59 points. Desert Pines (99) and Clark (100) were second and third. All three teams qualified for state.

The race for the individual title produced the closest finish of the day. Faith Lutheran sophomore Hannah Pavlov, Boulder City senior Jessica Tobler and Sunrise Mountain junior Ebonique Diaz ran away from the field and were bunched together until the final half-mile. Tobler broke away first, building a seven-second cushion, but Pavlov overtook Tobler in the final straight and won in 20:37.1. Tobler finished in 20:40.6, and Diaz was third in 20:49.8.

"It was tough. It was a really hard race for me," Pavlov said. "I was afraid I left it too late, but I caught her on the uphill (just before the final straightaway)."

Faith Lutheran's Caitlyn Orne (21:47.6) and Chaparral's Linda Sue Luchsinger (21:51.3) finished fourth and fifth.

Qualifying for state as individuals were Tobler, Diaz, Luchsinger, Taylor Coss of Tech and Kacy Udall of Moapa Valley.

The Division III Southern League girls race was won by The Meadows, the sole qualifier, with 29 points.

The individual winner was Jeneke Heerema of The Meadows in 21:10.4.

Individual qualifiers were Lincoln County's Taylor Soderborg and Laughlin's Kemberly Majia, Joslyn Rea, Brittany Schelper and Siearra Padilla.