Runners enjoy golden moments at Brooks National Cross Country Championships at Balboa Park

They’re called Golden Tickets, and after Saturday’s 46th annual Brooks National Cross Country Championships at Balboa Park, it was easy to see why.

Both individual gold medalists – Jackson Spencer for the boys and Natasza Dudek for the girls – were holders of those coveted Golden Tickets, awarded to runners who may not have qualified otherwise.

In fact, the first five boys and the top three girls to cross the finish line at the 3.1-mile course were all special invitees who were able to run in the Nike Nationals in Oregon last week.

Spencer, from Herriman, Utah, kept his perfect season alive when he ran down front-running Marcelo Mantecon, of Miami, in the final 200 meters to win in 15 minutes, 10.7 seconds. Mantecon finished two-tenths of a second behind him.

Dudek (16:55.5), of Ann Arbor, Mich., likewise, remained unbeaten when she won a duel against New Jersey’s Blair Bartlett (16:57.1) for the second straight week.

Eastlake High School’s Jaelyn Williams placed third with a time of 17:17.2 after leading briefly. It was the best finish by a San Diego-area girl in 33 years, surpassed only by a second place from Fallbrook’s Milena Glusac in 1992 and a first place by Rancho Buena Vista’s Kira Jorgensen in 1987.

The boys’ race started just as the sun peeked out after fog shrouded the course during the girls’ race, keeping the temperatures cool, which distance runners prefer.

Mantecon immediately bolted to the front and stayed there almost the whole way until the final trip up the notorious Upas Street hill with a half-mile remaining. That’s when Spencer made his move. But coming down the hill, Montecon edged back into the lead.

Spencer gave one more surge to pull even with the finish line in sight, running step for step with Mantecon across the tape.

“By winning the national championship, I accomplished everything I wanted,” said Spencer, who has committed to BYU but still has his sights set on making the U.S.A. National team for the World Cross Country championships, held Jan. 10 in Tallahassee, Fla.

“We practice running up tough hills a few times a week, but not coming down. The first time I tried to sprint down those hills, I face-planted, so I decided not to do that again.

“But this week I went up (the Upas Street hill) in practice and decided to run hard down the other side.”

Spencer was aware that Mantecon was a serious threat on the hills but he ran a 1:49 for 800 meters on a record-setting 4×800 relay team, so he had plenty of confidence when Mantecon pushed again.

As for Dudek, she couldn’t have been happier.

“I was told a long time ago to never give up, and I remembered that during this race,” said the sophomore. “I had to stay strong because Blair is so good.”

Dudek had a little inside help as her sister, Zofia, won this event in 2019, making them the first set of sisters to win titles.

As for Williams, who also placed third behind Dudek and Bartlett at the Nike Nationals in Portland, Ore., last weekend, she ran a completely different race this time.

“I decided to let them lead,” said the future Stanford runner. “I was hoping for a different outcome, but when I made my move (on the Upas Street hill the second time), we stayed right together.

“I’m not really disappointed, but I wish I’d run a little better. I did better last week.”

In the Nike Nationals, Williams took the lead after two kilometers and opened a 20-meter lead before her rivals mounted a late surge and passed her with 100 meters remaining.

Two other locals were in the girls’ field as La Jolla’s Chiara Dailey, running in her fourth straight National Championship, finished 27th in 18:14.8 and Christian junior Elliana Patterson placed 33rd in 18:22.7.

Sage Creek’s Josiah Bowman was hoping to earn All-American honors by placing in the top 20. But the UCLA-bound senior was caught in the crowd early and finished 38th in 16:18.6 in the 50-runner field.

Still, “it was a great experience,” Bowman said.

“But now I’m turning my attention to track and field, where I really look forward to breaking 1:50 in the 800,” he said.

46th Brooks Nationals

(At Balboa Park, 3.1-mile course)

BOYS

Team: 1. South 34, 2. Midwest 45, 3. West 49, 4. Northeast 102.

Individuals: 1. Jackson Spencer (W) 15:10.7, 2. Marcelo Mantecon (S) 15:10.9, 3. Caden Leonard (S) 15:18.4, 4. Yohanes Van Meerten (W) 15:21.2, 5. Fries (MW) 15:21.6, 6. Van Laningham (S) 15:27.2, 7. Lott (W) 15:30.3, 8. Seltz (MW) 15:33.4, 9. Culpepper (MW) 15:35.7, 10. Gibson (S) 15:36.8, 11. Wyatt Dann (MW) 15:38.1, 12. Lucas Tanner (MW)   15:42.3, 13. Brian Burns (S) 15:44.1, 14. Nicholas Mazzeo (NE) 15:44.6, 15. Evan Speitzer (S) 15:45.5, 16. Blake Bay (W) 15:46.4, 17. Nathan Lee (NE) 15:47.2, 18. Jaden Merrick (MW) 15:50.8, 19. Ethan Garza (S) 15:54.1, 20. Mikah Peters (MW) 15:56.4.

21. Zarian Rodriguez (W) 15:58.0, 22. Cadel Ruthven (MW) 16:00.8, 23. Aiden Le Roux (MW) 16:04.7, 24. Benjamin Berman (NE) 16:05.9, 25. Andres Lemoli (W) 16:07.0, 26. Travis Furmanski (NE) 16:07.6, 27. Noah Strohman (S) 16:08.9, 28. Samuel Laverdiere (NE) 16:09.4, 29. Gabrel Voelker (MW) 16:09.8, 30. Symond Martin (W) 16:11.7, 31. George Lawson (S) 16:12.4, 32. Tycen LaBelle (NE) 16:12.9, 33. Myles Jermyn (S) 16:13.4, 34. Caden Bybee (S) 16:13.8, 35. Malachi Burnett (S) 16:14.9, 36. Sam Leone (NE) 16:16.7, 37. Colton Craney (W) 16:17.2, 38. Josiah Bowman (W) 16:18.6, 39. Kamari Ronfeldt (MW) 16:21.9, 40. Charlie Palmore (NE) 16:23.0.

41. Falcon Jones (W) 16:23.8, 42. Michael Fritz (NE) 16:27.2, 43. Noah Montrager (MW) 16:29.6, 44. Lucas Wick (MW) 16:37.1, 45. Alex Roberts (MW) 16:38.9, 46. Teddy Hojlo (NE) 16:41.8, 47. Braulio Castillo (W) 16:48.0, 48. Preston Sangely (S) 16:50.8, 49. Ryder Strohman (S) 16:51.0, DNF Edward Stout (W).

GIRLS

Team: 1. Midwest 34, 2. Northeast 37, 3. West 70, 4. South 78.

Individuals: 1. Natasza Dudek (MW) 16:55.5, 2. Blair Bartlett (NE) 16:57.1, 3. Jaelyn Williams (W) 17:17.2, 4. Sophia Szolosi (MW) 17:19.2, 5. Abigail Hennessy (NE) 17:21.8, 6. Maddie Gullickson (MW) 17:24.7, 7. Leah Starkey (NE) 17:25.0, 8. Lily Alder (W) 17:31.7, 9. Averi Lowen (S) 17:35.4, 10. Virginia Kraus (NE) 17:36.5, 11. Emma Hoffman (MW) 17:38.1, 12. Elena Aldrink (MW) 17:44.3, 13. Paige Sheppard (NE) 17:45.0, 14. Jazzlyn Garner (S) 17:46.0, 15. Madeline Dorsch (S) 17:53.5, 16. Libby Dowty (MW) 17:56.8, 17. Gianna Rahmer (W) 18:00.7, 18. Braelyn Combe (W) 18:00.9, 19. Madison Muller (S) 18:01.2, 20. Amelia Avila (NE) 18:01.6.

21. Maysen Fletcher (S) 18:01.9, 22. Calysta Garner (S) 18:02.1, 23. Daphne Weller (MW) 18:05.5, 24. Annabel Pollert (MW) 18:06.5, 25. Carmen Dorsey-Spitz (W) 18:09.4, 26. Molly Domurat (NE) 18:12.4, 27. Chiara Dailey (W) 18:14.8, 28. Payton Meineke (MW) 18:15.3, 29. Lilly Beshears (S) 18:15.7, 30. Chase Gilbert (NE) 18:16.1, 31. Sadie Krueger (W)18:20.2, 32. Sofi Alexander (S) 18:22.2, 33. Elliana Patterson (W) 18:22.7, 34. Avery Barton (W) 18:26.7, 35. Tatum Flach (W) 18:27.9, 36. Kasey Dingman (S) 18:32.8, 37. Allison Lee (NE) 18:33.1, 38. Alexis Paterna (NE) 18:34.3, 39. Julia Score (MW) 18:42.3.

40. Carol Dye (W) 18:42.1, 41. Farah Allen (W) 18:42.2, 42. Emilia Garces (MW) 18:42.3, 43. Kaitlyn Estep (S) 18:48.8, 44. Lexie Cole (NE) 18:54.3, 45. Ana Bondy (NE) 19:00.5, 46. Giselle Fernandez (W) 19:02.7, 47. Bridget Smit (W) 19:21.9.