Mt. Carmel runners dominate Bronco Roundup, held on revamped Escondido course

ESCONDIDO — It’s called the Bronco Roundup cross country meet because it’s hosted by Rancho Bernardo High School, whose nickname is the Broncos.

This year, a more apropos name might be the Sundevil Roundup.

Mt. Carmel runners finished first and second in Saturday’s boys and girls Division 1 races over a revamped 2-mile course at Kit Carson Park.

Not that Jaxon Northcutt or Olivia Campos cared one way or the other.

Northcutt, a junior whose previous track season was derailed by severe iron deficiency, looked like he was 100% as he cruised to victory in 9 minutes, 28 seconds — well in front of teammate Quentin Fronjian’s 9:41.4.

Not far back was Mt. Carmel’s Brandon Sun. He finished fourth with a time of 9:53.0.

Given his health struggles, Northcutt said he “wasn’t expecting much” at the Bronco Roundup.

“I saw my time after a mile was 4:30,” said Northcutt, who was in a pack of four runners. “I decided since I was up with the leaders, I’d just go. I felt good the whole way and turned it on the final quarter mile.”

The Sundevils boys finished first, second and fourth en route to capturing the team title over Scripps Ranch, 46-57 (like golf, low score wins).

“We have such a good team — we could go places,” Northcutt said.

Campos’ win in 11:40.2 wasn’t as surprising given that she captured section cross country titles in each of the last two years. The revamped course at Kit Carson eliminated the most challenging element of past races — a steep hill. Campos had mixed feelings about the change.

“I liked it because it was a fun challenge,” said the senior. “Not having it made the race more continuous. It was kind of like running on the track.”

But, she noted, cross country and track are different sports.

“Cross country is like a community, a family,” she said. “I looked back near the end and saw we were second and fourth. It’s so great when the team runs well.”

Mt. Carmel teammate Isabella Mayer finished second at 11:45.7; fellow Sundevil Veronica Bell was fourth with a time of 11:57.3.

Unlike the boys, however, that was not enough to annex a team title. Scripps Ranch won the girls team crown, with Mt. Carmel second.

Classical Academy’s Gunner Silva captured the Division 2 title during a warmer part of the day, clocking a time of 10:06.5 and beating San Diego’s Pablo Sayas by 3.5 seconds. San Diego had reason to celebrate by finishing first in the team race.

Francis Parker’s Ari Llorens won the girls Division 2 race by more than 30 seconds, rolling to a time of 11:51.4. La Costa Canyon dominated the team race, scoring just 28 points.