Wilson and Gorczyca Individual Winners at Laughlin Invite Running in hot, humid conditions overlooking the Colorado River, Kyle Wilson of Shadow Ridge led his team to victory on Saturday morning and set a new course record of 19:20 on the 3.1 mile 2A/3A Regional course at Mt. View Park in Laughlin. The old record of 19:45 was set a year ago at the Laughlin Invitational by Greg Marschik of Arbor View. Running again today, Marschik broke his old record but finished second in today’s race with a time of 19:23. Colin Smith of Del Sol finished third (16:35), also breaking the old record. In the Large School Boys Division, Wilson led his Shadow Ridge teammates to an easy win (47) over Sunset Region rivals Durango (84) and Arbor View (94). Sunrise rivals Del Sol (111) and Tech (125) finished fourth and fifth. Shadow Ridge coach Pat Fitzgerald was ecstatic with the results. He also has a long memory. The Shadow Ridge boys had won the Laughlin Invitational from 2005 through 2007 but finished second in 2008 and 2009. “This was one of the absolute best performances our team has had (this year). We showed up and ran well. The boys really wanted the team trophy back.” Del Sol Coach John Dixon was pleased with his boys’ performance as well. “Our top three boys ran great. PR for Nick Priego. Happy with Colin’s (Smith) and (Walter) Casey’s performance considering their hard training schedule. Just wish we had a stronger 4-7. We would definitely be in the Region hunt.” Laughlin won the Small School Boys Division edging Boulder City 30-35, with Kingman Academy third with 57 points. Cody McGeshick of Laughlin was the first individual finisher among small school boys in a time of 19:29. In girl’s competition Arbor View (37) won the Large School Division with Palo Verde (50) second and Shadow Ridge (89) third. Tech (92) finished fourth and Lake Havasu (132) was fifth. This race was also a harbinger of things to come since Arbor View, Palo Verde, and Shadow Ridge are all strong contenders to make it to State (top three) from the Sunset Region. In the Small School Girls Division Boulder City’s girls reversed the results from the boy’s race, edging out Laughlin 32-35; Kingman Academy (57) again finished third. The boy’s race became three-man contest early. Kyle Wilson, Greg Marschik, and Colin Smith ran in a pack until the final tenth of the mile when Wilson broke away. The girls race was settled early when Katie Gorczyca, the Palo Verde freshman, broke away from the pack after two miles to win in near-record time of 19:27. (The course record of 19:13 was set by Wendy Harris of Lund in 2005 at the 2A Southern Regional.) Arbor View junior Andrea Gonzalez finished second in 20:13, followed by two seniors: Mallory Reese of Shadow Ridge (20:41) and Kelsi Koch of Palo Verde (21:10). The first individual finisher among small school girls was Stephanie Adams of Boulder City in a time of 21:37. Coach Tyrel Cooper was happy with the team effort of his girls. “Kids ran strong today. Strung out a little more than I would like, but we finished strong.” (Phil Lawton)