BOYS': IT'S GRAND FOR CANYON NO. 2 COWBOYS SLOSH THEIR WAY TO FIRST STATE TITLE.

Byline: Kirby Lee Special to the Daily News

FRESNO - The state Division I boys' cross country final turned into more of a race of attrition for the Canyon High team than a national-title bid Saturday at Woodward Park.

The Cowboys, the nation's second-ranked team, overcame treacherous course conditions from daylong rains and a decimated field to power to its first state team championship.

Canyon had three finishers among the top 11 - Luke Llamas, Jameson Mora and Ryan Morgan - in rolling to a 65-112 victory over Royal of Simi Valley.

An anticipated showdown with defending state champion Long Beach Poly, the nation's No. 1-ranked preseason team, and Carmichael Jesuit never materialized because of injuries to key runners.

Another contender, Rubidoux, was reassigned to Division II for postseason competition when a clerical error was discovered in enrollment figures.

Canyon's triumph avenged a three-point setback to Jesuit in last year's Division II final after the Cowboys entered the meet heavily favored. Poly, winner of two of the last three state Division I titles, was fourth with 142 points. Jesuit finished sixth at 158.

``This is a relief,'' Llamas said. ``We just didn't win. We killed them. A lot of us figured a No. 1 ranking means you win and that is definitely not the case. Before the race all we were talking about was, `Remember what happened last year.' We might have beaten them so many times but (Poly and Jesuit) always come through in the end. Be ready for that.''

What Canyon and the rest of the field did not anticipate was heavy rain that turned the 5,000-meter course into a quagmire.

``It was terrible, but it made the race more interesting,'' Mora said. ``We were ready for anything. We gave everything we had expecting like it was going to be within a point like last year. The feeling to win is a complete opposite of last year but just as strong.''

Canyon's title hopes looked in jeopardy when Llamas slipped and fell shortly before the two-mile mark. He suffered scrapes on his knee and elbow while challenging for the lead.

Llamas recovered to place second in 15 minutes, 44 seconds, six seconds behind winner Erick Maldonado of Don Lugo. Mora was eighth in 15:54 and Morgan was 11th in 15:59.

Junior Troy Werner (22nd in 16:12) and sophomore Alex Harris (69th in 16:53) rounded out the scoring to help Canyon record the fastest team time of the five divisions, 1:12 faster than Division II champion Rubidoux.

Canyon began setting the foundation for Saturday's triumph the day of the loss to Jesuit in last year's Division II final. They logged as many as 100 miles a week throughout the season.

``Five minutes after the race, we were waiting for this year,'' Canyon junior Mark Bingham said. ``Today sort of came out of nowhere. I really wasn't expecting it to be state-meet time. All of a sudden we were here.''

Phillip Reid of Rio Mesa of Oxnard and Brandon Lucero of Camarillo, who finished first and second in the Ventura County championships and Pacific View League finals, were ninth and 10th in identical times of 15:55. City Section runner-up Monroe of North Hills was 12th in the team competition behind the 17th- and 19th-place finishes of Manual Ruiz and Juan Guzman.

In Division IV, Chase Ferrell (7th), Taylor Hermes (13th) and Ken Brook (24th) helped Oak Park finished a strong second to McFarland, the nation's No. 7 team that won a record ninth state team title 40-67.

Flintridge Prep of La Canada was third in Division V, lifted by Seth Horowitz in 14th, to notch a top-three finish for the fifth consecutive year.

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Taylor Hermes (1269) finished 13th Saturday to help Oak Park finish second to McFarland at the Division IV state cross country championships in Fresno.

Kirby Lee/Special to the Daily News