CROSS-COUNTRY / ORANGE COUNTY CHAMPIONSHIPS : Edison Girls Edge Esperanza for Title

ORANGE — The rain subsided and the clouds eventually parted, but not before the Edison and Esperanza girls’ cross-country teams staged the closest battle in the 27-year history of the Orange County Championships.

Both teams finished with their top five runners scoring in a tie, 108-108, but the Chargers’ sixth runner, senior Carrie Quinn, finished 32nd and well ahead of the Aztecs’ sixth, Amy Des Palmes in 57th, to bring the title to Edison.

The Chargers had been building to this moment for some time, finishing as the runners-up here the last two seasons.

“I wanted us to win this so badly for them,” Edison Coach Kristi McGihon said. “They really deserve this, especially after the last two years.”

Charger junior Jennifer Formosa, who was 16th, the top Edison finisher, said: “We are all really excited about this, after my freshman and sophomore years.”

The individual title came down to Buena Park senior Carrie Garritson and Canyon senior Kim Nelson, the defending champion. Garritson, undefeated in 1993, took the early lead and pulled away from the late-charging Nelson, winning in 17 minutes 33 seconds. Nelson finished in 17:59.

Eliaser Estrada of Santa Ana Valley (18:12) held off Esperanza junior Carrie Caulkins to take third by a second.

Corona del Mar, ranked second in the latest Times poll, finished third in the team race (132 points) with the help of juniors Dresden Howell and Tracy Clark, who finished fifth and sixth. Sea View League rival Santa Margarita (137 points) used Amy Gomez’s seventh-place for fourth, followed by Dana Hills (155), Canyon (164) and Ocean View (165).

The boys’ team race also was expected to showcase top-ranked Katella and second-ranked Santa Ana.

The Saints, defending Sunset League champions and with one of the strongest groups of runners in county history, pulled away, scoring 59 points to Katella’s 76. Seniors Juan Medrano, Juan Zaragoza and Federico Duran placed among the top eight runners as the Saints placed themselves in position to assume the county’s No. 1 ranking for the first time.

“I knew that if all my runners ran the way they should, we had a chance to beat Katella,” said Roger Nava, Santa Ana’s first-year coach. “But I didn’t think we’d beat them that badly.”

Orange standout Jaime Martinez used much the same strategy as his female counterpart Garritson, spacing himself from the field within the first half-mile. Early pressure was provided by Capistrano Valley junior Adalberto Sanchez. The two passed the mile mark in 4:31. Sanchez, who wound up third, faded and Katella senior Mike Moreno continued the pursuit of Martinez, trailing the Panther senior through two miles in 9:48. In the end, the strength of Martinez, who avenged his second-place finish a year ago, proved to be too much for the competition as he cruised to a time of 15:02.

Moreno was second in 15:09.

Martinez’s victory was enough to lead the Panthers to fourth in the seeded team competition. Century League foe Villa Park edged Orange, 138-183, for third. San Clemente (185), Corona del Mar (213) and Huntington Beach (219) rounded out the boys’ featured competition.