Spence Kicks In To Hold Off Musyoki and Win in Course-Record Time : Fiesta 5,000: His finish in 13 minutes 58.9 seconds breaks Padilla’s mark of 14:22. Mosqueda wins women’s race.

It came down to the kick for Steve Spence, who had enough to hold off William Musyoki and win the men’s five-kilometer race Sunday in the Fiesta 5,000 World-Class Invitational road race in San Clemente.

Spence, who is ranked second among U.S. road racers, finished in a course-record time of 13 minutes 58.9 seconds and picked up $3,000 prize money. The previous record of 14:22 was set by Doug Padilla in last year’s inaugural Fiesta 5,000.

Musyoki, a native of Kenya who lives in Van Nuys, was second in 13:59.4 and received $2,000. Matt Guisto, who was a four-time All-American at the University of Arizona, was awarded $1,000 for his third-place finish (14:00.9).

Spence, who lives in Chambersburg, Pa., but spends his summers training in Boulder, Colo., made a rare Southern California appearance Sunday, and for a while it looked as if Spence would make only that: an appearance.

After staying near the front through the first mile, Spence faded to sixth as the lead pack pulled away. Spence said later that he felt stale at the race’s beginning because he had hurt his right Achilles’ tendon on a training run July 14 and wasn’t able to begin training until Thursday.

Spence, 28, made his way back to the front and was even with Musyoki and Guisto, both 23, as the runners made a sharp turn around a set of cones 200 meters from the finish. With 175 meters remaining, Spence surged into the lead. Musyoki, who June 15 won the Bastille Day 8K in Newport Beach, sprinted after Spence and made up some ground before finishing five meters shy at the finish. “The pace was a little slow at the beginning, but I threw in some surges at 1,000 meters,” Spence said. “And at the mile mark, the pack sort of ate me up. I got a little excited, but then I decided to let the other people do the work.”

Spence, who won the NCAA Division II track and field 5,000 meter titles for Shippensburg College (Pa.) in 1984 and ’85 before turning his attention to road racing, said he ran in the Boston Marathon in April and prefers longer distances. He has been concentrating on shorter races to prepare for Saturday’s Bix 7-mile in Davenport, Iowa. The race is expected to draw many top runners.

“I’ve been doing a lot of speed for a 5K,” Spence said. “Usually, I have to sacrifice the shorter race (that I run). But I’m pleased with my kick today--I had my spot picked out where I wanted to surge and I went right by that and let it happen.”

Musyoki said he misjudged the location of the finish line.

“Well, in a way, I thought the finish was a little further, but I give the winner credit,” he said. “When he went in front, it was too late to catch him. But I don’t want to use that as an excuse. He won the race.”

Sylvia Mosqueda of Alhambra won the women’s race in 15:55, defeating Sue Lee of Vancouver, British Columbia (15:59), and breaking Lisa Weidenbach’s course record of 16:00. Belgium runner Ria Van Landeghem was third (16:04).

Mosqueda, 24, who won the women’s division of the recent Bastille Day 8K, led from the start Sunday. Lee, who finished eighth in the 10,000 meters for Canada in the 1988 Olympics at Seoul, said she never really found her rhythm Sunday.

“I found today harder than I expected because I’ve been doing a lot of running on the track and not the roads,” said Lee, 30. “The course was challenging because of the hills, but I never felt that I was in a smooth rhythm.”

Mosqueda said she used the Bastille Day and Fiesta races as tune-ups for this week’s Goodwill Games in Seattle, where she will participate in the 10,000-meters race.

Wilson Waigwa, 41, a 1984 Olympian from Kenya who resides in El Paso, Tex., broke his world masters best for a 5K (14:23), winning in 14:16.8. Laurie Binder of Oakland won the women’s masters race in 17:25.0, and Ngaire Drake of New Zealand (17:41) finished second.