MODESTO — The Patterson High varsity girls cross country team won its second consecutive league title with a first-place finish at the Western Athletic Conference Championships on Oct. 29 at Legion Park.

While Livingston’s Kelsey Gallegos finished the 3.1-mile race with a top time of 20 minutes, 9 seconds, Patterson took five of the next seven spots.

For Patterson coach Dave Klein, the league title was fitting for what he called one of the best teams he’s had in his seven years of coaching cross country.

“I was really proud of the girls,” Klein said. “We got stronger and stronger as the season went on, and the races got longer. When we got to the 2-mile mark, that’s when we beat opponents. The final mile was one of the strongest miles we would run.”

Patterson’s Marisabel Carrillo paced the Tigers, hitting the 2-mile mark with a time of 13:45 before finishing second in 21:30.

Patterson had a strong showing from the rest of its talented contingent. Maritza Vega was fourth in 22:13, followed by Meghan Wraa’s fifth-place mark of 22:30 and Taryn Hale’s seventh-place time of 22:44.

First-year runner Laura Vazquez passed up a Livingston runner in the final mile to grab eighth place in 22:59.

“I’m glad I got to be a part of this,” Wraa said. “It means everything to win this title. All the hard work paid off. Being with your team, we’re like a family. It means everything that we did it.”

While Patterson had its share of ups and downs this year, with times that sometimes fell short of expectations, the girls steadily improved during the two-month season.

“Everybody improved themselves a lot,” Klein said. “I’m very proud of all of the girls for their hard work throughout the season. They deserve this.”

The Patterson boys varsity team had been shooting for an upset at the league championship race but finished third behind frontrunners Livingston and Orestimba.

The Wolves had three of the top five runners in the 3.1-mile race in Isaias Contreras (17:44), Isaac Morales (17:46) and Arshpreet Sidhu (18:07). Orestimba’s Dillon Mart won the race in 17:21.

The Tigers — competing without top runners Rafael Sotello and Helio Tejada — got a strong performance from sophomore Tyler Walker. Walker’s time of 18:14 was enough for a sixth-place nod.

Patterson’s Robert Sanchez took 12th in 19:03, but Patterson’s next runners were A.J. Walker (19:27) in 17th place and Rafael Martinez (20:06) in 19th place.

“It’s not like third place is bad,” Klein said. “I thought the boys did pretty well. I just think we short-stepped our goal. I think the boys did their best. It wasn’t for a lack of effort.”

• Contact Marc Aceves at 892-6187 or marc@pattersonirrigator.com.