The runners were also greeted with a new course layout for their three-mile races.
Getting his first taste of the Griffith Park Course, Burbank junior Greg Dotson won the boys’ race in easy fashion, finishing in 16 minutes, 18 seconds.
“I was injured my freshman year and I didn’t get to run here,” Dotson said. “And last year we didn’t get to run here. So, this was my first time in a real race on the course.”
Behind Dotson, the Bulldogs were able to win the boys’ race with 24 points. They were followed by the Indians (31) — who were missing some runners — Bell-Jeff (86), Village Christian (99) and the Pioneers (no score).
“I know that [Burroughs] didn’t have all their runners [Thursday],” Burbank Coach Trevor Marca said. “So, it’s going to be tougher the next time we meet them.”
Helping the Bulldogs to the win were Anthony Moumjian (third; 16:49), Adib Younan (fourth; 16:56), Aaron Chen (sixth; 17:10) and Kevin Coronel (10th; 18:17).
Behind Dotson was Burroughs’ Anthony Monroy, who placed second in 16:45.
The top Bell-Jeff finisher was Isael Farias (17th; 19:07), Michael Sauer (21st; 19:30) crossed the line first for Village Christian and David Brill (33rd; 21:17) paced Providence.
On the girls’ side, it was all Burroughs, as it placed all five of its scoring runners among the top nine finishers — including four of the top five spots.
The first-place Indians (20) were followed by the Bulldogs (39), Guards (78), Crusaders (117) and Pioneers (no score).
For the fourth straight year, a Martinez was crowned city champion. However, this season the title belonged to Indians junior Monique Martinez. She won the race in 20:30.
Sadee Martinez, who graduated in June, won the event the three previous years.
