National Olympic Cross-Country Championships : Valencia’s Lugo Battles Back to Finish Fourth

After staying with the lead runners through the first 4,000 meters of the National Junior Olympic cross-country championships Saturday at UC Irvine, Chris Lugo of Valencia High School said he suddenly felt a strange presence slowing him to a jog.

“You know that expression, ‘the bear’s on your back’? I think the whole family of bears and Goldilocks were on mine,� he said.

Though Lugo, 17, said he was sick with the flu all week, he managed to finish fourth in the young men’s division race with a time of 16:35. He was the top finisher among California runners.

“I tried to stay with them (the leaders), but they just took off,� Lugo said. “I was pretty tired and just felt really flat.�

The men’s race was won by Ernest Shepard of Piedmont, S.C, who ran the 5,000-meter course in 16:18.

In the young women’s division, Karen Packham of Meridian, Ind., won in 19:46. Corina Weiler, in 59th place, was the first Orange County finisher (22:53).

“It was a really tough course,� said Weiler, a senior from Capistrano Valley High School. “�Last year, I got 99th in Cincinnati (junior national cross-country championships) and I bettered my time by two minutes.�

Carrie Garritson, 10, led the bantam girls’ race and won her second consecutive national championship at 11:38 on the 3,000-meter course.

“It wasn’t that hard,� Garritson said. “The course was hot but it didn’t bother me too much.�