Royals’ Boys, Girls Win First County Titles

First-time winners were the order of the day in the Ventura County cross-country championships at Lake Casitas near Ojai on Friday.

The Simi Valley Royal High boys’ and girls’ teams won their first county championships since the meet began in 1976, and junior Phillip Reid of Oxnard Rio Mesa and sophomore Ashley Jones of Westlake Village Westlake became the first runners from their schools to win individual titles.

Royal, the No. 8 boys’ team in The Times’ rankings, was expected to get a strong challenge from No. 9 Oak Park but posted a 61-94 victory over the runner-up Eagles.

Royal was paced by the third-, fourth-and fifth-place finishes of junior Tim Hearst and seniors Charlie Serrano and Travis Patterson.

Hearst timed 15 minutes 31 seconds over the three-mile course with Serrano at 15:36 and Patterson at 15:39.

Reid placed first in 15:18 after breaking open the race in the second mile. Senior Brandon Lucero of Camarillo was second in 15:27.

Royal defeated Thousand Oaks, 59-96, for the girls’ title, despite running without its No. 5 runner.

Sophomores Morgan Noe and Erin Roesinger placed fourth and fifth in 18:50 and 18:51, respectively, for 10th-ranked Royal.

Jones placed first in 18:35 after surging past leader Lauren Morales of Oak Park with a half-mile left in the race.

Morales, a sophomore, finished second in 18:38 with senior Julie Hancock of Thousand Oaks third in 18:40.