RICHLAND -- Last week, Anthony Armstrong waited until the last minute to make his move.

On Saturday, Kamiakin's star senior took the lead from step one and dared the field to keep up with one of the best distance runners in the nation.

Armstrong led wire-to-wire, putting on a final burst to separate from Eisenhower's Santos Vargas and repeat as Richland Invite champion after claiming the Sunfair title last week. He blazed through Carmichael Middle School's 3-mile course in 14 minutes, 52.03 seconds.

"With 400 meters to go, I just heard the fans and the crowd yelling, 'It's you and Ike,' " said Armstrong, who remained unbeaten and set his fifth course or meet record in six races. "He was getting close, I could feel it. So I knew it was time to put the hammer down and just go."

Armstrong eclipsed the record he set last year by more than a second. However, the Braves came up short of unseating North Central, which claimed the team title for the fifth consecutive season. Kamiakin finished third, 40 points behind NC and 22 off second-place Seattle Prep.

Keegan McCormick in 14th and Austin Richards in 15th put on a big surge at the end for Kamiakin, passing several runners each. But North Central's pack -- grouped within a minute of Kai Wilmot's fifth-place finish for the Indians -- was the difference.

"With 200 yards left, I couldn't wait anymore," said McCormick, a sophomore. "It's the race within the race."

Walla Walla's JP Wolpert finished sixth in 15:33.42, coming off a strong 14th-place finish last week at Sunfair. Hermiston's Alejandro Cisneros (15:46.23) and Eduardo Juarez (15:46.50) finished 12th and 13th, and along with Jose Macias in 16th led the Bulldogs to sixth.

On the girls side, two-time champ Katie Knight and her North Central teammates skipped the event, opening the door for Mount Rainier sophomore Jordan McPhee to blow away the field in 17:35.86, winning by nearly half a minute and coming within half a second of Knight's meet record.

Not bad for a girl who was playing soccer last fall, and who first ran track last spring to keep in shape for basketball.

"I was hoping Katie Knight would be here, but I missed her," said McPhee, who has won all seven events she has entered. "I was disappointed not to have any competition, but I pushed myself."

The girls field split into three distinct races: McPhee running alone from the start, then a pack of 20 runners led most of the way by Kamiakin's Stephanie Rexus and Lindsey Bradley, and then the rest of the field of 124 runners.

Rexus held off the pack for more than 2 miles, with the freshman Bradley, Davis' Kaitlin Kaluzny and Eisenhower's Mayra Chavez hot on her heels. But it was Bradley who came down the final slope in second place with half a mile to go. Chavez eventually reeled her in down the final stretch to take second by 2 seconds. Bradley's 18:04.89 is the ninth fastest time run on the course.

"I just wanted to do really good, get in the top three," said Bradley, who finished fifth at the Bellevue Invite earlier this year in a field of nearly 100 fewer runners.

Rexus finished fourth in 18:11.95, placing the same as last year but 11 seconds faster. Teammate Michelle Fletcher was 13th (19:13.68), followed by Walla Walla's Rachel Nelson (15th, 19:20.78), Richland's Lauren Perry (21, 19:34.30) and Southridge's Rachel Dahl (22nd, 19:41.22) and Emily Kump (24th, 19:44.20) among the top 25.

Interestingly, Hermiston's Maggie Coleman won the Division 2 varsity/JV race in 19:10.22, which would have placed 12th in the main event.

Jackson won the girls team title, 10 points ahead of defending 4A state champ Eisenhower. Kamiakin finished fifth, Richland eighth and Southridge 10th.

Armstrong had it in his mind to lead from the start, knowing that what figured to be an all-star field had been thinned a bit by injuries.

"I found out earlier that (Wenatchee standout) Jacob Smith was not running because of a pulled groin," Armstrong said, "and I got a text from Nathan (Weitz of Shadle Park) that he was having a problem."

Weitz, like Smith a nationally rated runner, started the race but pulled up early in the second mile holding the back of his left thigh, likely a hamstring problem.

That left Armstrong and Vargas alone out front, and the pair finished nearly 30 seconds ahead of Wenatchee's Nicholas Boersma in third place.

It may look easy for Armstrong, rated No. 3 in the nation, but it takes a lot of work to make it look effortless.

"The workouts that you do every day," he said, "are what make races a lot easier than they seem."

Boys

Team scores--North Central 108, Seattle Prep 126, Kamiakin 148, Eisenhower 152, Jackson 181, Hermiston 184, Mount Spokane 192, Lindbergh 205, University 220, Puyallup 291.

Top 10--Anthony Armstrong (Kam) 14:52.03; Santos Vargas (Ike) 14:54.38; Nicholas Boersma (Wen) 15:21.33; Joe Hardy (SeaP) 15:24.50; Kai Wilmot (NC) 15:25.30; JP Wolpert (WW) 15:33.42; Jake Hombel (U-Hi) 15:37.97; Hunter Johnson (MS) 15:39.48; Mathew Fry (U-Hi) 15:40.47; Nathan McLaughlin (Puy) 15:41.27.

Chiawana--84, James Sturtevant 16:49.95; 148, Ramses Valdovinos 17:38.43. Richland--36, Ryan Francis 16:11.20; 130, Eli Shelby 17:23.51; 142, Dennis McDuffie 17:32.43; 11, Jared Miles 17:51.21; 169, Mark Quick 18:04.32; 171, Adam Jones 18:07.17; 181, Austin Van Wormer 18:26.94.

Chiawana--84, James Sturtevant 16:49.95; 148, Ramses Valdovinos 17:38.43. Richland--36, Ryan Francis 16:11.20; 130, Eli Shelby 17:23.51; 142, Dennis McDuffie 17:32.43; 11, Jared Miles 17:51.21; 169, Mark Quick 18:04.32; 171, Adam Jones 18:07.17; 181, Austin Van Wormer 18:26.94.

Walla Walla--6, Wolpert; 76, Greggory Heller 16:43.97; 78, Sean Hollenbeck 16:45.16; 90, Ben Wolpert 16:54.33; 98, Sean Newcomb 17:00.01; 145, Blake Gerling 17:35.47; 152, Ty Hafen 17:43.01; 168, Jacob Lewis 18:04.05.

Hanford--116, Jeevan Philip 17:11.81; 120, Erin Braich 17:16.14; 126, Ben Hoffner 17:20.34; 158, Joe Traverso 17:47.71; 163, Shaen Shelby 17:52.68; 165, Hao Zhai 17:54.22; 179, Clive LePage 18:25.50; 186, Joseph Collett 18:38.46.

Kamiakin--1, Armstrong; 14, Keegan McCormick 15:47.24; 15, Austin Richards 15:47.69; 50, Chrisitan Rodriguez 16:23.86; 70, Taylor Kraal 16:39.67; 73, Austin Oser 16:41.30; 109, Garrett Kraal 17:087.82; 147, Phil Snyder 17:37.83.

Kennewick--71, Joseph Schuldheisz 16:40.09; 95, Michael Martinez 16:57.29; 178, Colin Rice 18:24.87; 197, Ty Smith 19:13.45; 205, Keenan Moll 20:00.04.

Pasco--104, Sergey Gorbatyuk 17:03.05.

Southridge--87, Brett Konzek 16:53.43; 141 Brody Sams 17:31.81; 149, Brandon Degarimore 17:39.48; 157, Quinten Docken 17:46.01; 180, Vince Rodriguez 18:26.07; 189, Evan DeTienne 18:41.40; 209, Isaac Lugenbeal 24:47.00.

Sunnyside--77, Nathan Gonzalez 16:44.49; 146, Omar Cantu 17:36.26; 170, Juan Reynoso 18:06.84; 182, Eduardo Cuevas 18:32.96; 195, Manuel Dimas 18:58.95; 200, Eric Espindola 19:34.03.

Girls

Team scores--Jackson 96, Eisenhower 106, Sunset 146, Central Valley 156, Kamiakin 157, Mount Spokane 191, Lewis & Clark 196, Richland 210, Seattle Prep 216, Southridge 253.

Top 10--Jordan McPhee (MtRn) 17:35.86; Mayra Chavez (Ike) 18:02.83; Lindsey Bradley (Rich) 18:04.89; Stephanie Rexus (Kam) 18:11.95; Elise Tello (Ike) 18:13.28; Jess Mildes (Rvsd) 18:17.76; Kaitlin Kaluzny (Dav) 18:38.70; Molly Cole (MS) 18:51.14; Brooke Kingma (Jack) 18:57.91; Sarah Fahmy (Snst) 19:04.93.

Richland--3, Bradley; 21, Lauren Perry 19:34.30; 51, Sidney Bullck 20:29.15; 70, Samantha Bagley 20:54.24; 83, Kylie Bosch 21:10.94; 87, Kayla Watson 21:21.00; 88, Jamie Taylor 21:22.18; 1165, Audrey Oleson 22:37.95.

Walla Walla--15, Rachel Nelson 19:20.78; 32, Hannah Hampson 19:55.89; 62, Lea Davidson 20:44.40; 105, Jocelyn Vargas 21:55.03; 110, Jenny Wall 22:06.95; 114, Emily Leinweber 22:30.52; 117, Ashley Cornia 22:48.28.

Kamiakin--4, Rexus; 13, Michelle Fletcher 19:13.68; 40, Brittany Brooks 20:08.37; 46, Natalie Cory 20:22.95; 67, Sydney Blaser 20:51.36; 92, Eric Colvin 21:34.69; 107, Jori Perrins 22:02.96.

Southridge--22, Rachel Dahl 19:41.22; 24, Emily Kump 19:44.20; 47, Leslie Olsen 20:25.06; 80, Michaela McCune 21:05.99; 100, Michelle Snider 21:47.51; 106, Morgan McCune 22:00.76; 112, Jamie Callahan 22:13.51.

QUINCY INVITE

Tri-Cities Prep senior Nick Lumetta finished in 17 minutes flat to lead the boys field on the 3.1-mile Gorge Amphitheater course.

Prosser junior Kolby Childers wrapped it up in 20:13 to place second among the girls behind King's sophomore Kacey Kemper (20:11).

At Gorge Amphitheater, Quincy (3.1 miles)

Boys

Team scores--Ephrata 44, Tri-Cities Prep 47, King's 85, Medical Lake 103, Quincy 110, Prosser 150, Connell 188, Cle Elum/Roslyn 244. Top 3--1, Nick Lumetta (TCP) 17:00; 2, Grant Kallstrom (Eph) 17:04; 3, Hap Emmons (King) 17:11. Tri-Cities Prep--Lumetta; 5, Skyler Larson 17:17; 9, Nick Fong 17:31; 15, Adam Noorani 18:07; 18, John Hylden 18:16. Connell--33, Robert Orozco 19:00; 37, Noe Garcia 19:30; 38, Tony Torales 19:43.05; 40, Roman Rodriguez 19:48; 51, Parker Dolezal 20:58. Prosser--12, Bradley Buttars 17:55; 27, Peyton Sperl 18:40; 31, Matthew Taylor 18:56; 43, McKay Ashton 30:13; 44, Kaleb Merrick 20:17. Quincy--7, Victor Salgado 17:24; 16, Manny Lopez 18:13; 23, Gabriel Martinez 18:32; 26, Salvador Lopez 18:36; 42, Gerardo Guzman 19:56.

Girls

Team scores--King's 38, Ephrata 41, Quincy 72, Prosser 104, Tri-Cities Prep 126, Medical Lake 151, Connell 183, Cle Elum/Roslyn 201. Top 3--1, Kacey Kemper (King) 20:11; 2, Kolby Childers (Pro) 20:13; 3, Hannah Gunderson (Eph) 20:46. Tri-Cities Prep--8, Victoria Nunez 21:39; 19, Madelyn Noble 23:03; 27, Yvonne Lumetta 24:08; 38, Annie Bayless 25:11; 49, Janet Krusche 27:56. Columbia-Burbank--44, Christina Reusenauer 26:31. Connell--36, Delia Barragan 25:07; 40, Brittney Quinton 25:42; 42, Rachel Eskildsen 25:55; 43, Emalee Loeber 26:17; 47, Alexandra Miguel 27:26. Prosser--Childers; 25, Mariana Perez 23:53; 26, Chelsie Price 23:54; 30, Zara Wells 24:33; 31, Hannah Sperl 24:35. Quincy--7, Sarah Martinez 21:38; 15, Marinda Talley 22:14; 17, Alejandra Diaz 22:45; 18, Marymar Rabadan 22:59; 20, Mireya Camacho 23:06.

At Ski Hill, Leavenworth (2.8 miles)

Boys

Top 3--1, Devon Grove (Lake Washington) 15:49.9; 2, Justin Irvine (West Valley-Yakima) 16:07; 3, Zack Speiker (Oroville) 16:09. Royal--10, Juan Jimenez 17:14.59; 14, Marcos Quiroz 17:27; 18, Trevor Mianecki 17:47; 20, Jose Jimenez 17:56; 25, Nathan Perdue 18:09.09

Girls

Top 3--1, Sierra Speiker (Oroville) 18:49.09; 2, Margaret Parobek 19;27; 3, Cielle Thiry-Hardenburg 19:46. Royal--27, Ana Delos Santos 24:40; 49, Dory Floren 27:20; 50, Maritza Garcia 27:22; 51, Rosa Hernandez 27:30; 52, Bianca Lopez 27:35.

At Finch Arboretum, Spokane (5K)

Boys

Team scores--. Top 3--1, Dayde Collins (Deer Park) 16:36; 2, Conor McCandless (Gonzaga Prep) 16:39; 3, Cody Edwards (East Valley-Spokane) 16:51. Moses Lake--6, Hayden Wise 17:14; 24, Robert Warren 18:08; 31, Justin Johnson 18:14; 38, Aleksandr Schwiesow 18:24; 52, Bradley Nicholas Tripp 18:46.

Girls

Team scores--. Top 3--1, Morgan Wilson (Colfax) 18:52.0; 2, Sanne Holland (Cheney) 19:58.0; 3, Cyra Carlson (Gonzaga Prep) 20:12.0. Moses Lake--17, Julia Sheremet 21:44; 26, Hannah Marsh 22:17; 27, Jessie Green 22:20; 30, Danielle Crawford 22:36; 39, Glorica Saucedo 23:09.