Sultana Victory Is a Record Run

Murrieta Valley’s claim to the girls’ team time record at Woodward Park lasted a little over two hours Saturday in the state cross-country championships, thanks to Hesperia Sultana.

Murrieta Valley, the No. 11-ranked team in the nation by Harrier magazine, won its first state title with a 61-68 victory over Thousand Oaks in the Division I race. In the process, the Nighthawks’ top five runners posted a cumulative time of 93 minutes 1 second over the 5,000-meter course to break the previous best of 93:04 set by Rolling Hills Estates Peninsula in the 2000 state meet.

But Sultana annihilated that mark four races later when it posted a team time of 91:56 in winning the Division II title by a record 85 points. It was the best performance by a girls’ team since the state meet began in 1987.

“The kids ran an unbelievable time,” said Coach John Mahr of Sultana, ranked No. 3 in the nation.

Junior Kelsey Delagardelle finished second in 17:54 and freshman Danielle Varela was fourth in 18:05 for Sultana, which defeated Ventura, 59-144, for its second title in five years.

Murrieta Valley had four of the top 14 finishers in the Division I race. Junior Liza Pasciuto ran 18:05 to finish second as expected for Murrieta Valley. But the Nighthawks got an unexpected fifth place from senior Bonghabih Shey, who had placed 17th in the Southern Section championships a week earlier. “I just felt like I had nothing to lose,” said Shey, who ran 18:20. “I told myself, ‘This is my last [high school cross-country race] and I have nothing to lose.’ ”

Southern Section runners won three other titles as Oak Park won its second consecutive Division IV girls’ title and seniors Laura Meyers of Pasadena Maranatha and Bessie Hatch of Ojai Thacher won the Division IV and V races, respectively. Meyers clocked 18:21 and Hatch ran 18:58.