At last year's DeSales Invitational, Mikayla Stoudt darted to the finish line seeing only three girls finishing ahead of her.

Last Saturday Stoudt had a clear path to the finish line.

With a time of 19:41.30, Stoudt finished strong and won the DeSales Invitational on a brisk September morning.

"The start was pretty fast as were the hills in the mid-section," said Stoudt. "The cornfield was a difficult part of the race. It's always hard to keep your pace there, but I really concentrated during that part. Overall the course is really difficult."

When Stoudt took the lead, she didn't look back.

"In the beginning there was another girl right next to me," she said. "I lost her during the hills and by that time I just kept pushing and kept the lead."

It didn't take long for another Trojan to cross the finish line after Stoudt as Melissa Lukas finished ninth with a time of 20:46.39. Stoudt, Lukas and a 19th-place finish by Alexis Dongvort at 21:13.63 helped propel the Parkland girls' team to a third-place finish in the team competition with 90 points.

The boys' team also finished third in the team competition with 120 points, losing only to Twin Valley and Holy Ghost Prep. The biggest contributor to the boys team was sophomore Daniel Kyvelos, who finished second in the boys' race with a time of 16:51.64.

Kyvelos, who is a sophomore, is running his first season of cross country. His time at the invitational was his personal record.

"The beginning was fast and hard," Kyvelos. "In the middle I kind of relaxed and held back and then the last mile I gave it everything I had."

Parkland's Grant Newman took 13th in the boys race with a time of 17:14:43. He previously finished as high as second at DeSales. His finish was a tremendous help to the team and their point total.

"You have to give a lot of credit to the coaches," he said. "They have been working hard with us this season. They teach you how to be a fast runner and have a successful season."