A Second Wind, Then Second Place

A top-10 finish was her goal.

A fourth- or fifth-place finish was her dream.

So, senior Lauren Fleshman of Canyon High wept tears of joy after finishing second in the national cross-country championships on the Oaks Trail Course at Shades of Green in Lake Buena Vista, Fla., on Saturday.

Fleshman clocked 17:42.4 over the 5,000-meter course to finish behind senior Erin Sullivan of Mt. Mansfield in Jericho, Vt., on a partly cloudy day with temperatures in the mid-70s.

Sullivan, who broke away from the pack midway through the race, clocked 17:35.7 to become the third girl to win consecutive titles in the meet that began in 1979.

Erin Keough of McLean, Va., won girls’ titles in 1985 and ‘86, and Melody Fairchild of Boulder, Colo., placed first in 1989 and ’90.

Sophomore Sara Bei of Santa Rosa Montgomery, the favorite, finished third in 17:43.4.

“I’m pretty much shocked,” Fleshman said. “I was crying afterward because it’s just unbelievable to me that I could finish that high.”

Fleshman equaled the second-best finish by a girl from the Southern Section.

Kim Mortensen of Thousand Oaks won the national title in 1995 and Jeannie Rothman of Westlake placed second in 1990.

Fleshman, 14th in the national meet last year, was 13th after the first mile this time. She moved into sixth at two miles before battling Bei for second in the final 800 meters.

The previously undefeated Bei beat Fleshman, state Division I champion, in the West regional at Mt. San Antonio College on Dec. 5 and in the individual sweepstakes race of the Mt. SAC Invitational on Oct. 24.

“She kept picking up the pace, but I just tried to stay with her,” Fleshman said. “At one point, I was saying, ‘Just stay with her until this next tree. And then to the tree after that.’ But I just got a second wind in the last 100 yards or so.”

Josh Spiker of Ventura finished 14th in the boys’ race with a time of 15:50.9.

Spiker, third in the West regional, was in about 20th place at the mile mark and 15th at two miles.

He worked his way up to “ninth or 10th” with 400 meters to go, but was passed by several runners in the final 300.

Senior Jorge Torres of Wheeling, Ill., High won the race in 15:16.4. Senior Louis Luchini of Ellsworth, Maine, placed second in 15:23.8.

The top five finishers in each race were designated All-Americans. The sixth- through 10th-place finishers were selected to the second team and the 11th through 15th were selected to the third.