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SOBOBA INDIAN RESERVATION – Alison Soto showed she wasn’t playing around Thursday, but Hemet’s girls proved they have plenty of game, as well.

Soto, a Beaumont senior, won the Mountain Pass League’s second league girls cross country meet at the Soboba Sports Complex, but her rivals from Hemet squeaked out a 37-38 team victory.

The win gave Hemet a sweep of the first two league meets. A victory at the Mountain Pass League Finals on Nov. 3 at Diamond Valley Lake would give it the outright title; second place there would likely tie it for a championship with the Cougars.

The Beaumont girls entered the season as favorites, but the Bulldogs’ surge has been a pleasant surprise – for both teams.

“These girls are an amazing group,” Hemet coach A.J. Plinski said. “They have a tremendous amount of commitment and a lot of passion for the sport.”

Beaumont coach Brandon Tedrow likes having the increased competition.

“I knew they had a good, solid group,” Tedrow said, “but they’ve taken a step forward.”

As close as the team event was, Soto turned the girls race into a runaway, bolting to an early lead and winning by 37 seconds (in 19:10.2) over West Valley junior Kamryn O’Brien.

“We have (the) Inland Empire (Challenge) this weekend,” Soto said, “so I wasn’t trying to do anything crazy.”

Tedrow has wanted Soto to be more aggressive. He’s getting his wish.

“I’m really liking the fact that she’s trying to push it early,” he said.

San Jacinto junior Kimberly Lopez placed third in the 3-mile run at 19:48.3. Hemet took four of the next six spots with Julia Romero (fourth), Ashley Ramos (fifth), Jade Morillo (eighth) and Jocelyn Lopez (ninth).

Hemet won the first meet by 12 points last month, so the Cougars are closing the gap.

“We took a swing at them and came up a point short,” Tedrow said. “We’ve got another couple of weeks (for) another shot.”

Beaumont won the boys race for the second league meet in a row with 31 points to Hemet’s 46. Hemet senior Eduardo Toris (16:07.8) won individually, with the Cougars’Jason Flores and William Sanchez finishing second and third,respectively.

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