Foot Locker shows top local runners where they stand

Just when it appeared that she was slowing down and in need of a break, Corona del Mar High’s Annabelle Boudreau threw caution to the wind.

The Sea Kings’ budding freshman did not want her season to end with the CIF State cross-country championships, so she lined up to compete in a race for the fifth consecutive week since the Pacific Coast League Finals on Nov. 1.

Traversing the hills of the Mt. San Antonio College course for the second time this year, Boudreau ran 19 minutes 39.2 seconds to take third in the freshman girls’ race of the Foot Locker West Regionals.

“It was my first high school season,” Boudreau said. “I think that you have to prepare mentally and physically for some tough races, and I think that I have learned a lot. I know now that not every race is going to go your way.

“I’ve really worked on a good race plan. My coach [Bill Sumner], he’s really helped me with constructing a race plan and racing smart.”

If the times sound slow, it is because some adjustments were made to the Mt. SAC course due to ongoing construction at Hilmer Lodge Stadium. The new starting line modified the course from its traditional distance of 2.93 miles to a full 5,000-meter race.

Boudreau certainly reaffirmed her status as one of the top freshmen girls in the state. She has made no secret in her brief career at CdM that she has big goals laid out for herself in her four-year plan with the Sea Kings.

“I think that it is just something that my coach and I have talked about,” Boudreau said of extending her season. “I have really big hopes for upcoming years.

“Looking at the seeded girls’ race, I want to get a feel for some of the top girls in California.”

A total of 12 states competed in the Foot Locker West Regionals. If Boudreau had ran the girls’ seeded race, her time would have placed 51st in the field of 122 runners.

Newport Harbor High’s Alexis Garcia (31st, 16:17.4) and Ocean View’s Edwin Montes (151st, 17:39) ran in the boys’ seeded heat.

Garcia was coming off a fifth-place showing in the Division II race of the state meet. That confidence showed as he fought for the lead early, but he faltered as the daunting hills, the first of which is “Switchbacks,” came into play.

“I think the beginning was the best part,” Garcia said. “I got a little excited, and I started leading it. Once the hills came, it was just like, ‘OK, I’m not doing this.’

“We always have ups and downs, and I guess today, it was my down.”

During the regular season, Garcia had looked at JSerra’s Anthony Grover as somewhat of a measuring stick for how he was doing. The Sailors junior picked a tough act to follow.

Grover posted seven victories this year, including the Orange County, CIF Southern Section Division 4, and the CIF State Division IV titles. The Lions sophomore finished 11th (15:58.3) in the seeded race, one spot shy of a berth in next Saturday’s Foot Locker Nationals at Balboa Park in San Diego.

“It’s just really humbling to know that I have put in a lot of work and it is paying off,” Grover said of being revered by Garcia. “To know that other guys are looking up to me, that just feels great.”

Montes, who helped the Ocean View boys’ team reach its first state meet in program history, was glad to be tested by the best.

“It kind of gave me an idea of where I stand,” the Seahawks junior said. “The first mile was really fast, and then I kind of cooled it off the last two miles.

“I was trying to get into my own pace and rhythm because I knew that I wasn’t going to make it if I kept pushing myself, but it was a really good race.”

Ocean View juniors Jason St. Pierre (39th, 17:29.8) and Adriana Gil (50th, 21:21.6) ran in their respective grade-level races.

Seahawks alumni Eric Jimenez (fifth, 16:44.1) and Ryan St. Pierre (14th, 17:02.6) ran in the men’s open race.

Jimenez was a 2016 graduate of Ocean View, while St. Pierre graduated in June.

BOYS’ CROSS-COUNTRY

Foot Locker West Regionals

At Mt. San Antonio College

5K course

Seeded Race (Top 10 advance to Foot Locker Nationals)

1. Harrison (Red Valley/AZ) 15:38.4; 2. Beaudoin (Sunnyvale/CA) 15:41.1; 3. Martinez (San Diego/CA) 15:43.4; 4. Z. Winter (Farr West/UT) 15:44.7; 5. Porras (Draper/UT) 15:45.1; 6. Ullrich (Galt/CA) 15:45.4; 7. B. Winter (Farr West/UT) 15:45.7; 8. Morlan (Spokane/WA) 15:49.5; 9. Riley (Rancho Cucamonga/CA) 15:51.3; 10. Harshorn (Alpine/UT) 15:54.0; 31. Garcia (Costa Mesa/CA) 16:17.4; 151. Montes (Huntington Beach) 17:39.0

Junior Race

39. J. St. Pierre (Huntington Beach/CA) 17:29.8

Open Race

5. Jimenez (Midway City/CA) 16:44.1; 14. R. St. Pierre (Huntington Beach/CA) 17:02.6

GIRLS’ CROSS-COUNTRY

Foot Locker West Regionals

At Mt. San Antonio College

5K course

Seeded Race (Top 10 advance to Foot Locker Nationals)

1. Lane (Malibu/CA) 16:59.6; 2. Thronson (Spokane/WA) 18:11.8; 3. Winterton (Salt Lake City/UT) 18:16.3; 4. Hartke (Roseville/CA) 18:17.8; 5. Bautista (San Clemente/CA) 18:18.0; 6. Garcia (Sedro Woolley/WA) 18:19.5; 7. C. Arriaga (Walnut/CA) 18:19.7; 8. Reiss (WA) 18:21.7; 9. Fielding (Orem/UT) 18:23.5; 10. Miessner (Chula Vista/CA) 18:26.0

Junior Race

50. Gil (Huntington Beach/CA) 21:21.6

Freshman Race

3. Boudreau (Newport Beach/CA) 19:39.2

andrew.turner@latimes.com

Twitter: @ProfessorTurner