Northern Athletic League Championships Shasta College Redding, California Thursday November 4, 2004 Corning's Silva takes Championship denying West Valley's Fairley a second title Record Searchlight and Hale Bale AC Staff Jordan Fairley was less than 100 yards from repeating as Northern Athletic League boys cross country champion. Then, with a final surge, Corning's Cesar Silva pulled back in front and left the West Valley senior. Silva won the NAL boys race in 16 minutes over the 3.1-mile course on Thursday at Shasta College. Fairley challenged Silva over the final 400 meters and briefly took the lead, but faded. He finished second, two seconds back. "I felt pretty cool most of the way," Fairley said. "The last 800 meters were tough. I thought I would be able to outkick him, but I didn't have anything left at the end." Early in the boys race, Edsall and Silva led a pack of six runners, including Fairley and his Eagles teammate Pat Crowl, after the first mile. A second pack, including Anderson's Andy Brown, was within 10 meters after the first mile. Shortly after the two-mile mark, Edsall made a move to break clear, only to have Silva counter and take the lead. "We went out really fast," Edsall said. "Cesar and I traded off the lead, then I put in a surge and tried to put some distance on everybody. It never did happen. I was just trying to hold on to my position after." Unlike earlier this season, Silva ran a smarter race. Instead of charging to the front and running fast early, Silva was content to run in the front pack and wait for a move to be made and then counter. Once he did, Fairley made a run at him on the homestretch, slowly trimming the 15-meter lead. But in the final straightaway to the finish line, Fairley couldn't keep up. "I had to try and catch up with him after he pulled ahead," Fairley said. "I caught him in the last 100 meters, but I was too tired from all that catching. My legs were spent." Central Valley senior Robert Edsall was third in 16:17 followed by Yreka's Brice Peters in 16:21. Corning's Cody Higginson was fifth in 16:31, followed by Crowl (16:38), Brown (16:47) and West Valley's Matt Baker (16:50). Anderson senior Julie Shaw won the NAL girls race in 19:18, beating last year's league champion Danielle Robberson of Yreka by 11 seconds. The girls race was simplier. After the first mile, it was already down to Shaw and Robberson. Shaw eventually pulled away after the second mile and maintained her lead to the end. "This was a real flat course," Shaw said. "It seemed like it would never end. I felt really tired the last few days, but I say it was good to win league." Yreka's Gina Davis was third in 20:08, followed by Las Plumas' Shannon Robertson (20:21) and West Valley's Brittany Williams (20:25). Eagles teammate Michelle Bennett (21:04) was ninth. Fairley and Robberson can both take solace, however, in leading their respective teams to league team titles. The West Valley boys placed five runners in the top 12 and easily finished first with 36 points. Corning was second at 54 points followed by Yreka (69), Central Valley (83) and Las Plumas (98). Anderson didn't field a full team. The Yreka girls finished with 33 points to place first, while Las Plumas (52) edged West Valley (55) for second. Anderson (75) was the only other squad to field a full team of at least five runners. Now all the runners turn their sights to the Northern Section cross country meet, which has been moved to 2 p.m. Nov. 12 at West Valley High School, so it won't coincide with Veteran's Day. Varsity Boys: 3.1 miles Sunny, 70 degrees, slight wind Team Scores: WV (36) COR (54) YR (69) CV (83) LP (98) 1. Cesar Silva Corning 16:00 2. Jordan Fairley West Valley 16:02 3. Robert Edsall Central Valley 16:17 4. Brice Peters Yreka 16:21 5. Cody Higginson Corning 16:31 6. Pat Crowl West Valley 16:38 7. Andy Brown Anderson 16:47 8. Matt Baker West Valley 16:50 9. Brady Robertson Las Plumas 16:54 10. Brandon Hoisington Yreka 16:57 11. Jon Hanna West Valley 17:13 12. Justin Barry West Valley 17:31 13. Cody Walsh Las Plumas 17:38 14. Zack Schlichting Yreka 17:45 15. Juan Rodriquez Corning 17:55 16. Daniel Collins Corning 18:08 17. Garrett Syvertson Central Valley 18:16 18. David Leal Yreka 18:25 19. Stephen Brent-Chase Central Valley 18:32 20. Daniel Skousen Corning 18:40 Varsity Girls: 3.1 miles Team Scores: YR (33) LP (52) WV (55) AND (75) 1. Julie Shaw Anderson 19:18 2. Danielle Robberson Yreka 19:29 3. Gina Davis Yreka 20:08 4. Shannon Robertson Las Plumas 20:21 5. Brittany Williams West Valley 20:25 6. Tanya Bowers Yreka 20:52 7. Rachel Higginson Corning 20:55 8. Krista Yardley Yreka 20:57 9. Michelle Bennett West Valley 21:04 10. Franchesca Lacebal Las Plumas 21:13 11. Cessna Johnston West Valley 21:22 12. Stephanie Cox Las Plumas 21:38 13. Hillary Ramone Las Plumas 21:42 14. Ashley Morgan Anderson 22:07 15. Adrienne Dulen West Valley 22:14 16. Hope Weikert Yreka 22:19 17. Amber Floyd Las Plumas 22:24 18. Noel Endres Anderson 22:27 19. Nichole Barry West Valley 22:46 20. Malia Johnson West Valley 23:01