The Princeton girls cross country team poses for pictures with the first-place plaque that it won at the Commerce High School Invitational. Photo courtesy Tanya McCormack
By David Wolman
The Commerce High School Invitational didn’t have a large contingent of schools, but that was okay with Princeton.
Princeton put forth a dominant effort with several individual standout performances, especially in the girls division.
The Lady Panthers accounted for the top seven finishes in the 5A-6A girls 5K race, leading Princeton to first place in the team standings with 15 points.
The Valdez sisters led the charge for Princeton. Samantha posted a winning time of 21:20, while Marian finished second in 21:52.8.
Jillian McCarthy ran to a third-place finish in 22:48. Itzel Ramirez-Milan captured fourth in 22:51, Malia Dargel finished fifth in 23:37.44, Saumya Joshi earned sixth in 24:33 and Emma Dickerson took seventh in 24:52.25.
Princeton had just as much balance from its boys team, with the Panthers placing five runners in the top 20.
Ashton Long turned in the top time with an 18:58.34, good for seventh place. Eli Fisher captured 10th in 19:01.94. Luke Bailey placed 14th in 19:39.82, Stephen Talley was 15th in 19:41 and Noah Loera took 18th in 19:56.78.
Samuel Robles placed 23rd in 21:43.34 to round out Princeton’s efforts. The Panthers were second in the team standings with 64 points. Wylie East, with 25, won the team title, while Greenville, with 67, placed third.
“Our boys continue to impress,” said Princeton head coach Tanya McCormack. “They are running within a minute of one another, showing the tight pack strength. Despite being a young varsity squad, with four of our top five runners coming from the freshman and sophomore classes, they are competing with maturity and confidence.”
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