HUNTINGTON BEACH – Villa Park junior Garrett Corcoran has been one of the county’s top performers throughout the early part of the season.
He prepared for the county’s showcase regular season meet with another strong effort Saturday, finishing second in the Division 1 race at the 31st annual Bill Thompson Central Park Invitational here at Central Park.
Corcoran and senior Bernie Montoya of Cibola High in Yuma, Arizona broke away from a tightly grouped main pack early in the first mile.
Montoya would separate himself from Corcoran throughout the second mile and would go on to win the race for the third straight year, clocking a time of 14:39. In the process, he broke his own modern course invitational record of 14:55 set last year. The modern course has been used at the invitational since 2000.
Montoya’s time was also the fastest ever on the Central Park course in any competition, breaking the previous record of 14:42 set by former Edison standout Matt McElroy at the 2009 Sunset League Preview Meet.
“The pace for the first mile was a bit slow and my coaches just told me to go,” Montoya said. “I knew that every stride had to be strong and every muscle had to be loose. I knew that I had a sizable gap and front-running got the PR which was nice.”
Corcoran crossed the finish line in a time of 15:14.
“I liked my race and the fact that I was able to break away from everyone except for Bernie,” Corcoran said. “I have been happy with my workouts and I’m looking forward to next week and trusting that I can run through pain longer than everyone else.”
In the girls’ Division 1 race, Sydney Badger of Centennial High in Nevada finished first in a time of 17:14. That time set a new modern course invitational record, breaking the previous record of 17:27 set in 2005 by former Fountain Valley star Elizabeth Coe.
Saugus (33 points) won the team competition, placing all five scoring runners in the top 11. Dana Hills (82) was second, led by senior Paige Canterbury (18:37) who was 10th.
