ESCONDIDO ——One of the earliest major cross country meets of the season wasn't too soon to begin a new chapter of a long-standing rivalry. The La Costa Canyon High and Torrey Pines girls cross country teams are the deepest, most talented squads in the CIF San Diego Section. The rival schools' battle for supremacy began in earnest Saturday morning during the Division I girl's race of the Bronco Invitational at Kit Carson Park.

Even after the two squads expertly navigated the two-mile course, the jury remains out about who's the better team.

The Mavericks' runners took first, second and third, but the Falcons' pack was more tightly grouped. Torrey Pines had five runners in the top 14.

If the Bronco Invitational was scored in a team competition, La Costa Canyon would have won by a mere three points despite the extraordinary efforts of the LCC's big three.

Sophomore Katy Andrews returned to the form that produced and undefeated regular season in 2004. She easily won the race in 11 minutes, 16 seconds. Senior Gillian Fitch took second in 11:31, and Brooke Giuffre took third with an 11:36 in her first cross country race.

"Going 1-2-3 is a fantastic start for us," La Costa Canyon coach Bill Vice said. "But it's tough to get too excited with Torrey goes 1-2-3-4-5 before the rest our pack comes in."

The top five Falcons were separated by a total of 19 seconds. Talented freshman Erin Gillingham led the way with an 11:48 and took fourth behind LCC's top trio.

The Mavericks also have room for improvement. Giuffre, a senior soccer player who plans to focus more on running, could become another ace as she gains experience.

"Brooke has been great," said Fitch, the Mavericks' captain. "She's new to the sport, but you can tell she has a lot of ability.

"We've all been training pretty hard in the offseason, and hopefully we'll keep on getting better."

Rancho Buena Vista's Jeree Henry needed a better showing to increase his chances of getting into the Woodbridge Invitational night race next weekend. He got one on Saturday, winning the boys Division I race in 9:43.

"I kept thinking about getting into that race while I was running," Henry said. "I knew I need a solid mark to have a chance."

Rancho Bernardo's Colton Tully-Doyle and Carl Dargitz finished second and third, respectively, behind Henry.

San Dieguito Academy's Timbo Stillinger had a strong showing in the boys Division II race. He won in 10:07.

Contact staff writer Scott Bair at (760) 739-6642 or sbair@nctimes.com.