Hoover Goes Deep to Win Kenny Staub Invitational : Cross-country: Fourth and fifth runners on state’s top-ranked boys’ team come through as Tornadoes display enough depth to trounce second-place Peninsula.

One week after wilting under the pressure of a big-meet showdown, the Hoover High boys’ cross-country team maintained its composure Saturday in the Kenny Staub Invitational at Crescenta Valley Park.

At the Bell-Jeff Invitational last weekend, the Tornadoes, the state’s top-ranked Division I team, lost to McFarland, the top-ranked Division IV team, after their fourth, fifth and sixth runners faded badly in the last half of the race.

But Hoover’s fourth and fifth men moved up or maintained their positions during the second half of Saturday’s Division I race, giving the Tornadoes a 49 1/2-76 victory over Peninsula.

Belmont, which finished only five points behind Hoover in the Bell-Jeff meet, was third with 89 1/2 points, followed by defending City Section champion Garfield (122) and St. Francis (140).

“This was a better race than last week in that we got our first five in ahead of [Belmont’s third runner],” Hoover junior David Lopez said.

“We were kind of nervous last week because it was this No. 1 team in the state against that No. 1 team. Today we knew that we would come out OK if we got out well.”

Lopez and Belmont’s Manuel Lopez (no relation) shared the lead for most of the race before staging a scintillating shoulder-to-shoulder duel over the final 150 yards.

They were so close at the finish that officials ruled it a dead heat and credited each with a time of 15 minutes 40 seconds over the three-mile course.

“Right when we finished, the official said that [I] had won,” David Lopez said.

“But then a bunch of Belmont people said that [Manuel Lopez] had won.

“It’s still early in the season so it doesn’t really matter who won. All my training is towards [the Southern Section and State championships.]”

Felipe Montoro (16:02) and Wilson Aquino (16:21) finished fourth and eighth for Hoover, but it was the 15th- and 21st-place efforts of Stephen Sotomayor (16:45) and Isabel Casillas (16:58) that were significant.

Sotomayor moved up 11 spots in the last mile and a half.

“[Sotomayor has] been one who’s struggled a little because he gets too excited and he pressures himself,” Hoover Coach Greg Switzer said.

“He just needs to relax and run his own race.”

Canyon felt plenty of pressure from Peninsula in the Division I girls’ race, but the Cowboys placed five runners among the first 11 finishers to turn back the defending state Division I champions, 30-40.

Saugus, led by individual winner Breanne Schweitzer, placed third with 77 points, followed by Crescenta Valley (116) and Bell (153).

Schweitzer clocked 18:39 after breaking away in the final mile from Canyon’s Julie Harris and Lauren Fleshmen.

Harris, who defeated Schweitzer for last year’s Foothill League title, placed second in 18:52, followed by Fleshmen (18:57) and teammate Kellie Stigile (19:31).

Peninsula took the next four places. Jean Drummond (20:34) and Tiffany Furuya (20:41) of Canyon placed 10th and 11th.

Canyon, the No. 2-ranked team in Southern Section Division I, had lost to Saugus in the season’s first Foothill League meet, Sept. 28. But Fleshmen ran in the freshman race in that meet.

She’ll be sticking with the varsity after pushing Schweitzer and Harris for most of Saturday’s race.

“Having her definitely helped, but really the whole team ran much better today than we did last week,” Canyon Coach Dave DeLong said.