STATE CROSS-COUNTRY MEET : Glusac, Cox Reach Goals in the Championships

FRESNO — Milena Glusac of Fallbrook needed to regain confidence and Escondido’s Michele Cox needed to find hers. Both achieved their goals en route to individual state titles in the State cross-country championships at Woodward Park Saturday.

Glusac, recovering from a stomach ailment that slowed her earlier this season, led from the start to win her second consecutive Division I title in 17 minutes 14 seconds, 28 seconds ahead of runner-up Amy Skieresz of Agoura over the 5,000-meter course.

Cox, who was unable to make Escondido’s top seven and did not run in last season’s San Diego Section finals, won the Division II title in 18:28.

Glusac had been favored to win the Kinney national title last season after winning the state title and the Kinney Western Regional. However Glusac, suffering from glycogen depletion, finished 30th out of 32 runners.

She won the state 3,200-meter title last spring in track but was unable to approach her cross-country times as a senior this fall. She was diagnosed with a pre-ulcerous spot on her stomach in October and has been taking medication.

Glusac, who set a course record in winning last month’s Mt. San Antonio College invitational, left little to doubt to her fitness on Saturday. Her time of 17:14 was only a second shy of her state meet record set last season.

“My time could have been faster,” Glusac said. “But having the problems I’ve had I’m happy to come out with something positive. I feel a lot stronger and fresher than last year.”

Melanie Hand finished 14th as Fallbrook placed sixth with 145 points. Agoura had four runners among the top 14 to win its third-consecutive title with 75 points. Irvine and Mt. Carmel were second and third with 109 and 113 points.

Glusac, 5 feet 6, 92 pounds, ran unchallenged after passing the mile in 5:14 and held a 16-second advantage over Skieresz, the Southern Section champion, at two miles (10:55). Glusac nearly doubled her lead over Skieresz in the final mile. Peninsula’s Molly Mehlberg was third finishing 1:20 behind Glusac.

“I didn’t want to sit back and find out what would happen,” Glusac said. “I know I didn’t have to prove anything to myself, but other people felt otherwise.”

For Cox, a senior transfer from San Pasqual, her problem was the opposite.

“Last year, she’d do great workouts and come to the races and get dead last,” Escondido Coach Lonnie Morrow said. “We couldn’t figure out what was going on. I think the ability has always been there, but she needed to believe in herself.”

Cox was among the early leaders before overtaking former teammate Melissa Keim of San Pasqual in the final 1,200 meters en route to a 14-second victory over Kim Nelson of Anaheim Canyon.

Keim faded to ninth, but San Pasqual held off defending Division II champion Huntington Beach Edison, 100-111, to finish second for the second consecutive season.

“It was more mental than anything, I just needed to believe in myself” said Cox, who defeated Keim for the first time to win the San Diego Section title last week. “Once I got ahead, I didn’t look back. I wanted it real badly.”

San Diego High’s Mebrahtom Keflezighi turned in the fastest boys’ time by a San Diego runner, finishing third in the Division I race in 15:22.

Devin Elizondo and Mario Marquez were seventh and 10th to help Mission Bay defeat Agoura for the Division II title, 93-100. Anaheim Katella and Canyon Country Canyon were third and fourth with 109 and 119 points. San Pasqual was seventh with 163.

Nazario Romero of San Pasqual, sixth in last year’s meet, was third in 15:31 behind winner Ryan Wilson of Agoura (15:13) and Ricardo Brewer of Bakersfield North (15:20).