WALNUT -- The Mt. SAC Invitational is often referred to as a preview of the CIF state cross country meet, but that's only a half-truth.
Winning at Mt. SAC is actually much harder. The state meet is broken up into divisions, while Saturday's meet lumps all top teams into just a few sweepstakes races regardless of school size. That means you'd better be at your best to come home with a championship.
The nation's largest cross country invite does give state-title contenders a progress report on how they stack up against the very best. And North County's finest found there is work left to be done.
Torrey Pines High's girls fared the best, finishing second in the Super Sweepstakes. Rancho Buena Vista's girls trailed the Falcons in fifth, while the Longhorns also took fifth in the boys Super Sweepstakes.
The Falcons, who have been outright favorites in years past, were underdogs this time around. They ran better than dyestatcal.com's No. 7 state ranking suggests thanks to an excellent lead performance by Megan Morgan and a solid run by the rest of the pack.
Torrey Pines was in excellent shape early on, with four runners in the top 15 after the first mile. The Falcons faded toward the end of Mt. San Antonio College's daunting 3-mile course and allowed fellow Division I team Saugus to take control and the victory.
"We tend to fade on that third mile, which is a problem we know we have to fix," said Morgan, a sophomore who finished 13th in 17 minutes, 54 seconds. "We were running strong and lost it a bit there at the end. If we can run stronger as a unit late in the race, we'll keep the pressure on and post a better score."
Teammate Alli Billmeyer placed 17th in 18:01.
Torrey Pines has four consistent runners, but a fifth must emerge over the next month if the Falcons are to take a serious shot at Saugus.
RBV's girls, ranked No. 10 in Division I, have the same problem. The Longhorns have quality runners in Shanna St. Laurent and Heather Zytkewicz, but need to be stronger throughout the lineup to improve on Saturday's result. St. Laurent registered the best time of the day by a North County girl, finishing 10th in 17:32.
Rancho Buena Vista's boys may have the most talent of any North County team, thanks to the emergence of freshman Chris Brewer and the leadership of Collin Jarvis and transfer Jared Threw. The Longhorns struggled on Mt. SAC's brutally challenging course and finished farther back than expected.
"The talent is there," said Jarvis, who turned in North County's finest boys time with a 15:06 to finish sixth in his race. "We just haven't all run well at the same time."
Despite the relative disappointment, RBV's confidence remains high.
"Right now, we have no idea what we're capable of," Threw said. "We have so much talent and so much chemistry here. Someday soon, we're going to have a breakthrough."
The Longhorns, as well as the Torrey Pines girls, hope that breakthrough comes at the CIF state meet.
Contact staff writer Scott Bair at (760) 739-6642 or sbair@nctimes.com.
