HIGH SCHOOL CROSS-COUNTRY : Bell, Belmont Win Titles at City Meet

Damian Flores thought it was possible, but the Bell High senior still found it difficult to believe after the Eagles had won their first City cross-country title in the finals at Pierce College on Saturday.

Flores, Denis Vela and Jorge Perea placed sixth, eighth and 10th, respectively, as Bell held off Birmingham, 56-59.

Belmont, winner of eight of the nine previous City championships, was third with 81 points. The top two teams qualified for the state meet Nov. 30 at Woodward Park in Fresno.

The Eagles had beaten Belmont twice during the season, yet Flores wasn’t sure if Bell could repeat the performance Saturday because of Belmont’s past success.

“They were always so good that I never thought about beating them any of my other years,” Flores said. “We beat them earlier this year, but I didn’t know if we were going to beat them today.”

Birmingham junior Alvaro Mejia ran unchallenged in winning the individual title, covering the three-mile course in 15 minutes 29 seconds. Avo Artinyan of Van Nuys and David Irias of Belmont were second and third in 15:36 and 15:41, respectively.

“Belmont has such a big reputation that when we beat them in the first meet of the season, most people thought it was a fluke,” said second-year Bell Coach Ernie Aguirre, who guided the Eagles to a fourth-place finish last season. “People began to take notice when we beat them a second time.”

University’s Robin Snowbeck won her second consecutive girls’ title, beating Pattie Trejo of Belmont by 18 seconds in 18:30.

Belmont’s Alma Herrera, Auria Roberto and Yolanda Gomez placed third, fifth and sixth, respectively, as the Sentinels won their third championship in a row with 25 points, followed by San Pedro (90) and Garfield (129).