CROSS-COUNTRY : Edison Girls Display Depth at Invitational

LAGUNA HILLS — The Edison girls’ cross-country team misses front-runner Shelley Taylor, who is a freshman at Arkansas, but it certainly is doing its best to fill the void.

At the Laguna Hills Invitational Saturday, the Chargers--the No. 1-ranked girls’ team in Orange County--won the Division II junior/senior race with 40 points. San Pasqual, runner-up to Edison at last season’s State meet, was second with 122, with Tustin third (131) and Mission Viejo fourth (144).

Kristi Kaufmann, in her first year coaching Edison, said the team misses not having a runner the caliber of Taylor up front.

“It comes down to the fact that we miss Shelley in our hearts,” Kaufmann said. “But while she was here, she instilled a lot of good things into these girls.”

And Edison, ranked fourth in the nation by The Harrier cross-country magazine, continues to roll over other teams. Saturday in the junior/senior race, the first five runners on Edison’s team were among the top 12 finishers. All five were also under 19 minutes 40 seconds for the slightly hilly three-mile course at Laguna Hills High.

The Chargers were led by junior Janndee Evans, who was fourth in 18:57 behind winner Melissa Keim of San Pasqual (17:50), Escondido’s Michelle Cox (18:29) and Tustin’s Liza Alexander (18:39).

Janndee Evans was followed by teammates Janna Evans (seventh, 19:22), Danielle Eldridge (eighth, 19:23), Carrie Quinn (10th, 19:29), Tanya Futami (11th, 19:38).

The Chargers also won the sophomore race with 46 points; Tustin was second with 99.

Edison’s Elyse Homberger finished second to Ocean View’s Taryn Lawson, who equaled the second-fastest county time of the day with an 18:29. Homberger, who before this season never ran cross-country and had only run one junior varsity race before Saturday because of a foot injury, finished in 18:55.

Twins Jennifer Formosa (third, 19:00) and Jeannie Formosa (fourth, 19:08) rounded out Edison’s top three.

Irvine and Santa Margarita won trophies of their own in the girls’ junior/senior races. Irvine beat Mount Carmel, 63-91, in Division I, and Santa Margarita beat Corona del Mar, 35-60, in Division III.

Irvine’s Kelly Roda placed third in 18:29 in the premier individual race. Fallbrook’s Milena Glusac won in the day’s fastest girls’ time, 17:42. Long Beach Wilson’s Erica Sumi was next (18:11).

Corona del Mar, which upset second-ranked Irvine in a Sea View League dual meet Thursday, took the Division III sophomore race, with Brooke Meek running 18:27, the fastest by a county girl.

In the boys’ competition, Santa Margarita’s Ryan Wilkinson turned in the fastest county boys’ time, 15:37, in the Division III sophomore race.

Katella, the county’s top-ranked team, didn’t compete, but Dana Hills won both the Division I junior and senior races, and Laguna Hills won the Division III senior race over Corona del Mar.

Meet Notes

Laguna Hills won the sophomore boys’ race with 49 points to Corona del Mar’s 74. Huntington Beach’s Ben Flamm won the Division I senior race in one of the top times of the day (15:39). . . . San Diego’s Mebrahtom Keflezighi turned in the day’s fastest time, running 15:02 in the Division III junior race. . . . Ocean View’s Christie Engesser, one of the state’s fastest girls’ 800 meter runners, was sixth in the Division II junior/senior race (19:21).

In the Sonora Invitational:

Mahon, La Habra win--Brendan Mahon ran to a 24-second victory to lead La Habra to the Division I boys’ title at Carbon Canyon Regional Park. Jeff Domis was second for La Habra, which finished with 30 points to Lakewood’s 63. Brea-Olinda was third with 95.