PALO ALTO, Calif. – St. Francis senior Lauren LaRocco finished fourth overall to lead the St. Francis cross country team to a fourth-place finish at the Stanford Invitational Saturday on the Stanford Golf Course.

“It went pretty well,” said LaRocco. “It can be hard to feel your pace when there is such a big pack and especially in the beginning because everyone goes out fast. There was some really good competition so it was nice to run at Stanford. I think it helped us figure out where we are at and what we need to do by the end of the season.”

LaRocco crossed the line in 17:59 behind Davis Senior’s Fiona O’Keeffe (17:38), Arcadia’s Veronica Yamane (17:49) and La Costa Canyon’s Emma Abrahamson (17:57).

The Troubadours were fourth overall in the 33-team field with 211 points behind Trabuco Hills, La Costa Canyon and Davis Senior.

“Today was an overall tough performance,” said assistant coach Mason Myers. “We knew that there were going to be a few southern California schools that were coming up to show what they got and they certainly out-performed us.”

Senior Madison Rawson was 10th overall in the race in 18:28, while sophomore Miranda Myers finished 25th in 19:12. St. Francis was one of two schools in the field to place their top three among the Top 25 in the field.

“It is phenomenal to be able to break 18 minutes on this course,” said Myers on the performance by LaRocco. “She made lots of great movement throughout the race. Madison and Miranda also had good races with PRs over last year as well.”

Junior Camille Boudreaux was 75th overall as the fourth finisher for the team.

“I felt good but I definitely went too soon,” said Boudreaux. “Overall we did well but not quite like I was hoping. It is an early race. We will be smarter for the next race.”

Ariel Medina posted a time of 20:17 to cross the line 97th, while Mallory Shingle (119th, 20:41) and Chase Worthen (185th, 22:14) rounded out the team for St. Francis.

The Troubadours return to racing on Oct. 9 at the Delta River League meet at Granite Regional Park.

Stanford Invitational, Stanford Golf Couse, Palo Alto, Calif., 5K

Team Results

1. Trabuco Hills 97; 2. La Costa Canyon 105; 3. Davis Senior 163; 4. St. Francis-Sac 211; 5. Arcadia 233; 6. Rancho Bernardo 258; 7. Bellarmine-Wa 280; 8. San Clemente 280; 9. Warren 292; 10. Bishop Amat 302; 11. St. Mary’s Academy 328; 12. Great Oak 368; 13. Maria Carrillo 385; 14. Thunder Ridge 392; 15. Jackson-Wa 406; 16. Amador Valley 420; 17.  Branson 436; 18. Centennial 471; 19. Rancho Cucamonga 479; 20. Monte Vista-Dville 484; 21. Torrey Pines 503; 22. Durango 561; 23. Nipomo 583; 24. Mountain View 583; 25. Homestead 609; 26. St. Agnes 623; 27. College Park 713; 28. Fremont 728; 29. California 762; 30. Lynbrook 779; 31. Marin Academy 858; 32. Heritage 986; 33. Cupertino 1019.

Individual Results (Top Five)

1. Fionna O’Keeffe, Davis Senior, 17:38; 2. Veronica Yamane, Acadia, 17:49; 3. Emma Abrahamson, La Costa Canyon, 17:57; 4. Lauren LaRocco, St. Francis, 17:59; 5. Sydney Badger, Centennial, 18:04.

Other St. Francis Finishers

10. Madison Rawson 18:28; 25. Miranda Myers 19:12; 75. Camille Boudreaux 19:56; 97. Ariel Medina 20:17; (119) Mallory Shingle 20:41; (185) Chase Worthen 22:14.