Hoquiam’s venerable Grizzly Alumni Invitational cross country meet turned into a showcase for North River’s girls.

Ruby Gumaelius and Georgia Clark, representing the tiny Brooklyn school, took the top two female places at the Grizzly Alumni meet Saturday at Sea Breeze Oval.

Montesano capitalized on depth and favorable scheduling to sweep team honors. The Bulldog boys amassed 26 points to finish 40 ahead of runner-up John Paul II of Olympia. Montesano’s girls, with 24 points, wound up six lower than Willapa Valley — the only other school to field a complete girls team.

Competition with the prestigious South Sound Invitational in Lacey gutted what has traditionally been a strong Western Washington contingent in this meet.

Most Twin Harbors schools did compete in Hoquiam, although Aberdeen’s Faith Cardenas — who would have been favored in the girls race — missed the event due to Scholastic Aptitude testing.

With Cardenas out, it was no surprise that Gumaelius took the girls title. The North River freshman has performed very well in all-classification meets this season.

“She’s the real thing,” veteran Willapa Harbor coach Brad Donovan confirmed.

A few strides behind Elma’s Leeza Brown at the beginning, Gumaelius took command at about the 1-mile mark and steadily pulled away. She covered the 5,000 meters in 22:43.

“Every year she’s getting better and better,” Mustang coach Sue Coulter said. “She’s got a heart and she takes every suggestion you give her.”

The race for second was much closer. Pressed by Willapa Valley’s Amber Anderson entering the homestretch, Clark found another gear on the final lap around the track and finished in 23:13. Anderson, who has been battling a nagging foot injury, was another 12 seconds back.

Both individual races were won by Class 1B runners. Jack Farrell of Olympia’s Pope John Paul II blew away his competition with a time of 17:03, which some observers believed was a school record.

Montesano’s boys, meanwhile, continued to perfect their pack mentality strategy.

Bulldogs Braden Stowers, Martin Shuck and Andy Fry, were separated by only 13 seconds in sweeping second through fourth places. Stowers was clocked in 17:50.

“I don’t have a standout runner this year. But that’s what I like about this team, everybody works together,” Monte coach James Edwards said. “It doesn’t matter who is leading, as long as they stay in the pack.”

To a lesser extent, the same principle applied to the Bulldog girls. Madolyn Olson was the top Montesano runner, placing fourth.

Montesano has often skipped this meet due to conflicts with Homecoming dance activities. Edwards acknowledged that likely would have been the case again this year, but an earlier starting time enabled the Bulldogs to compete.

Hoquiam coach Carly Giles cited the performances of Carlos Juarez (who ran a personal-best 18:27) and Madison German. Alexis Delahanty, who had been the top Grizzly female runner, has left the team.

Jordan McKinney, a transfer from Lincoln of Tacoma, drew the praise of Aberdeen coach April Meissner.

One welcome break from tradition was the absence of nasty weather that has often plagued this meet. Last year’s event was canceled due to a severe windstorm. The rain that had been forecast for Saturday morning stayed away.

BOYS

1. Jack Farrell (Pope John Paul) 17:03. 2. Braden Stowers (Montesano) 17:50. 3. Martin Shuck (Montesano) 17:54. 4. Andy Fry (Montesano) 18:03. 5. Jordan McKinney (Aberdeen) 18:14. 6. Carlos Juarez (Hoquiam) 18:27. 7. Nathan Ashley (South Bend) 18:28. 9. Thomas Bergstrom (Montesano) 18:30. 9. Forrest Carbaugh (North River) 18:35. 10. Tyler Bristow (Elma) 18:41.

GIRLS

1. Ruby Gumaelius (North River) 22:43. 2. Georgia Clark (North River) 23:13. 3. Amber Anderson (Willapa Valley) 23:25. 4. Madolyn Olson (Montesano) 23:45. 5. Kaytlynn Correy (North Beach) 24:01. 6. Elizabeth Hunley (Montesano) 25:25. 7. Madison German (Hoquiam) 25:39. 8. Jennifer Cole (Hoquiam) 25:51. 9. Mercy Johnson (Aberdeen) 25:52. 10. Emmaline Kaivo-Houlton (Montesano) 25:53.