Olly O'Connor Runs Within Two Seconds Of Trey Caldwell's Course Record On Day One Of 77th Mt. SAC Cross Country Invitational

By Keenan Gray of DyeStat

Ken Martinez photos

RESULTS|VIDEOS

WALNUT, Calif. - Chiara Dailey's early, aggressive racing tactics guided her to a third career Mt. SAC Cross Country Invitational title on day one of the 77th edition of the nation's largest high school cross country meet.

The La Jolla CA senior flew the 3-mile course on Mt. San Antonio College's famed grounds in 17 minutes, 19.1 seconds, winning the girls division 3, 4 and 5 team sweepstakes race by over 50 seconds.

Dailey's win on Friday was her first in two years at Mt. San Antonio College, in any race, finishing second at last year's Mt. SAC and Foot Locker West Regional. Dailey's previous win was her sophomore year when she won her second Mt. SAC title.

"It's pretty cool," Dailey said on her third title. "I would have liked that win last year to get four in a row, but it's pretty rare."

Dailey created a 29-second lead after mile one, going through in 5:17.4, and built her lead to 50 seconds at mile two before sustaining her lead to the end.

Carol Dye of Santa Margarita CA finished second to Dailey in 18:09.2. Both Dailey and Dye ran the same exact third mile in 5:53.

Chloe Bennett finished third in 18:21.5, leading Sage Creek CA past Santa Margarita for the team title, 55-66.

Olly O'Connor of Viewpoint CA was two seconds away from breaking Trey Caldwell's course record of 14:46, running 14:48.2 to win the boys division 3, 4 and 5 team sweepstakes race.

O'Connor settled in behind Ben Friedland and Elio Adriani through the first mile in 4:52. At two miles, he took his first lead by seven seconds before closing his last mile in 4:50 to win by nine seconds.

Josiah Bowman of Sage Creek finished second in 14:57 and Mehari Winheim of Desert Christian CA finished third in 14:59.8, the only other finishers under 15 minutes in the race.

West Torrance CA, led by a fourth-place finish from Dylan Mehnert in 15:20.3, won the team race with 94 points.

Elliana Patterson of Christian CA pulled away late in the girls division 3, 4 and 5 individual sweepstakes race, winning in 17:22.6. Ariella Llorens of Francis Parker took second in 17:32.4 and Gretchen Yakaitis took third in 17:44.6.

Andrew Lomeli became the fourth boy to run 15 minutes on day one, winning the division 3, 4 and 5 individual sweepstakes race in 14:57.8. Kiefer Willcox of Tahoe-Truckee CA finished second in 15:10.9 and Oren Hill of Thousand Oaks finished third in 15:22.2.