Before the start of the season, Patterson High cross country coach Dave Klein figured the current crop of girls runners provided the Tigers a strong chance to repeat as Western Athletic Conference champions.

The season is proving his hunch accurate, as the Patterson girls fended off a tough Livingston team on their way to a 23-33 win at the T.W. Patterson Sports Park on Oct. 21.

“The girls held their own,” Klein said. “They ran really well. Once they got a feel for the course and were able to run with their legs under them, they looked pretty strong.”

Livingston’s Kelsey Gallegos completed the 3.1-mile course first, with a time of 21 minutes, 31 seconds. But Patterson had three of the top five runners in Marisabel Carrillo, Maritza Vega and Meghan Wraa.

Carrillo clocked in with a second-place finish in 22:02. She defeated third-place finisher Vega by eight seconds.

“I thought we’d challenge (Gallegos) a bit more,” Klein said. “Still, our top two runners came close to finishing under 22 minutes.

“We’re still going to get better.”

Wraa’s time of 22:53 was good for fourth place. Patterson’s Taryn Hale and Laura Vasquez finished back-to-back in 23:33 and 26:51, respectively.

On the boys side, Patterson’s Rafael Sotello took second place in 18:12, while teammate Tyler Walker finished third in 18:17. But behind a first-place outing from top runner Isais Contreras, Livingston was able to come away with a 25-34 victory.

The Wolves took seven of the top 10 spots in the 3.1-mile race.

“The boys didn’t run bad,” Klein said. “(Contreras) ran really, really well. If he doesn’t run that race, and we push up a little more, we could’ve won that race.”

Patterson’s Helio Tejada claimed a sixth-place finish with a time of 18:26. Teammates Robert Sanchez (19:42) and A.J. Walker (20:03) chimed in with respectable finishes.

“Livingston’s boys team is strong,” Klein said. “They don’t have any really great runners, but they’re consistent all the way through.”

In the 2-mile JV boys race, Patterson earned an 18-39 win. Livingston did not field a JV girls team for the event.

Patterson’s next meet will be Thursday, Oct. 29, at Modesto’s Legion Park for the WAC finals. The first race begins at 3 p.m.

“We still need to run well (at the league meet), and nothing is a given,” Klein said. “But this was a big step for the girls.”

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