The San Marcos boys beat Ventura for the third time this year and clinched their first Channel League cross country title of this century on Thursday at Camino Real Park.

The Royals were led by the dynamic duo of Jason Peterson and Ty Burre. Peterson was third on the flat 3-mile course in 15:37 while Burre came in fourth in 15:40.

“The two were back and forth, with Ty leading earlier in the race and and Jason taking over in the third mile,” said San Marcos coach Lawrence Strehmeier. “The guys went out and ran their hearts out with five of the seven running the fastest time that they have ever run on that course.”

It was a great day for the San Marcos cross country program, as both the boys and girls teams qualified for CIF Prelims.

The girls team finished second to Ventura. Sophomore Madison Funk was the Royals’ top finisher in third with a time of 17:55. Kaela Cleary was fourth in 18:06. Both times were personal bests.

The CIF Prelms are Nov. 11 in Riverside.

San Marcos Girls Times:

3rd Madison Funk 17:55

4th Kaela Cleary 18:06

6th Mya Adornetto 18:50

13th Talia Hamilton 20:08

15th Lyla Krock 20:21

16th Kendra Dayton 20:26

21st Camille Lubach 20:54

Boys Times:

3rd Jason Peterson 15:37

4th Ty Burre 15:40

7th Kyle Rheinschild 15:44

9th Will Snyder 16:14

11th Dominic Pugliano 16:18

15th Ryan Hullander 16:29

19th David Dinklage 16:49

Dos Pueblos

The Dos Pueblos girls squad advanced to CIF Prelims after finishing third in the meet. Strong showings from Kailey Reardon (19:12, eighth place) and Josie Morales (19:41, 10th place) powered the Chargers into the postseason.

The DP boys squad did not qualify despite a third-place finish, But two Charger runners raced their way into prelims as individuals. Sophomore Joseph Pearlman and junior Nathaniel Getachew were fifth (15:41) and sixth (15:43) respectively, to book their spots in Riverside.

“They ran very wise races, stalking the pack in the first mile and getting into position with a mile to go,” said Dos Pueblos coach Micks Purnell. “They held off kicking until just the right time at the end to secure the last individual spots going to Prelims.”

Girls Times:

8th Kailey Reardon 19:12

10th Josie Morales 19:41

12th Emmi Wyttenbach 20:04

18th Molly Gans 20:29

22nd Zoe Geller 20:54

23rd Madeline Choi 21:02

25th Riley Wahlberg 22:31

Boys Times:

5th Joseph Pearlman 15:41

6th Nathaniel Getachew 15:43

20th Ben Stefanski 16:50

22nd Henry Urschel 16:57

23rd Scott Buie 17:01

24th Joshua McGregor 17:10

Santa Barbara

The Santa Barbara boys saw a strong performance from Jake Ballantine, who finished eighth overall with a time of 15:46. Teammate Thomas Everest finished second on the team and 21st overall with a time of 16:54.

The girls squad was paced by Margharita Ronzoni, who finished with a time of 22:37, good for 26th overall.

— Noozhawk sports reporter Christian Eckert can be reached at ceckert@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @NoozhawkSports and @noozhawk. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.