UKIAH —Arcata made the trip down to the Yoshaany Rahm Invitational at Ukiah High again this year to defend their titles but found winning more difficult than expected.

The Ukiah campus course has many turns that crisscross over each other, and in both races the lead runner ran off course, had to double back and lost their lead during that time.

In the boys race Arcata’s Brandon Kelsey was trailed closely by the lead pack shortly after coming down off the first hill as they all headed one direction. The first six runners ran around 25 yards before screaming fans called them back and they turned around to get back on course.

Kelsey was now trailing about five runners. “I just thought to myself, OK I need to go get those guys.” said Kelsey. He was more than up to the challenge. “This course is always hard, very hot and hilly, but I like the uphill.”

By the time Kelsey charged up the hill the second time he had established a large lead and went on to finish the 5,000 meter course in 17:34 with a 19 second margin over San Marin’s Connor Flechsig, 17:53.

Arcata easily won the boys team race with a score of 23, good enough to beat the other seven teams even if they combined forces.

Following Flechsig was Arcata’s Kellen O’Neill (17:59) and Solomon Reinman (18:25), Healdsburg’s Eddie Mondragon (18:26), Willits’ Robert Swoboda (18:29), Arcata’s Zephir Lennox (18:44) and Ryan Ghisetti (19:01), Ukiah’s Tyler Clark (19:05) and Tech’s David Ramirez (19:09).

The Arcata girls won for the fourth straight time, but by the slimmest of margins. Again their lead runner didn’t know which direction to go at one of the intersections and actually ran back up into the hills for a good long distance before realizing she was going the wrong way. Iona Mahony-Moyer of Arcata had been so far ahead of the next set of runners that many didn’t even know she was not still in the lead. She worked hard to catch back up but could manage no better than fourth.

Healdsburg’s Ana Drake-Tripp was the first runner to cross the finish line after passing the runners ahead of her mid-way through the race to win handily by 29 seconds in 21:57. “I didn’t know until they handed me the first place medal at the finish that I wasn’t still behind the Arcata girl.”

Drake-Tripp also lost close to 100 meters herself in the last mile, as she lost track of the course.

“My training for this race was perfect as we were doing a lot of hill work and practicing sharp turns.” said Drake-Tripp.

Mahony-Moyer handled the course problems like a champion. “I just wanted our team to win and was not that concerned with how I did,” said Mahony-Moyer. “It’s only one race.”

Arcata did win by the smallest of margins, 43-44, over San Marin.

Following Drake-Tripp was San Marin’s Brittany Panela (22:26), Ukiah’s Anna Bresciani (22:41), Mahony-Moyer (22:47), Rancho Cotate’s Amanda Bedoka (23:19), San Marin’s Grace Olson (23:36), Arcata’s Kestril Hewson (24:20) and Brianne Beronilla (25:21), Ukiah’s Gianna Passalacqua (25:34) and San Marin’s Tess O’Brien (25:43).