WALNUT - Maddie Dignadice said she wasn't ready to stop running.

Fortunately for the Valencia girls' cross country team, Southern Section officials didn't want the Vikings to either.

After Capistrano Valley defeated Valencia by one point to grab the last Div. I qualifying berth last season, both teams placed sixth in their respective qualifying races at Saturday's prelims at Mount San Antonio College, looking to secure the final spot for next Saturday's division championship.

When it was discovered that Valencia and Capistrano Valley both clocked 90 minutes, 30 seconds on the revised 2.94-mile rain course, meet manager Hal Harkness decided to allow both teams to advance to the final, helping the Vikings do so for the first time.

"Of all the teams, I would rather it be Capistrano Valley than other people because (coach Ken Sayles) understands the situation," Valencia coach Jeff Gilkey said. "For it to come down to this close again is crazy. The drama certainly follows me. But credit to Hal Harkness for letting us in because the rule states it's supposed to be decided by the sixth runner. I'm very thankful and very relieved."

Dignadice, still nursing a sore left ankle, placed 11th in 17:24 for Valencia, which received strong efforts from sisters Olivia (17:51) and Amelia Pear (18:02), along with Lindsey Garcia (18:08).

"All the energy was going through me and I knew I had to do it for my team," Dignadice said. "It feels like I can breathe again. It's the best feeling ever (to advance)."

Led by freshman Megan Melnyk's 12th-place effort (17:30), Crescenta Valley was third in its Div. I heat. Highland's Vanessa Lopez qualified individually in 17:13 to take fifth.

Golden Valley's Chelsey Totten didn't hold back in capturing a Div. II individual qualifying berth, placing fourth in her loaded heat that included Simi Valley and Mira Costa in 16:53.

"There's a lot of relief. I'm very happy, but now there's new stress to deal with (to qualify for state)," Totten said. "I would have been more comfortable running in Div. III, but I knew this (move to Div. II) was going to have to happen sooner or later, so it means a lot more."

Simi Valley, with all five scorers in the top 11 led by a victory from Sarah Baxter (16:09), won its Div. II heat with 27 points.

Saugus, despite resting three runners, won its race with 36 points and Canyon (138) finished fourth. Heidi Hoslet's sixth-place finish (17:20) led six Centurions in the top 12 and Canyon's Madison Hills placed 10th (17:28).

Led by a seventh-place effort from Melanie Joerger (17:08), Thousand Oaks took second in its heat with 61 points, trailing Redondo Union (48). Moorpark's Monika Gyalay (17:07) qualified in sixth.

Jenny Giguere's third-place result (16:39) helped Westlake take fourth in its heat with 102 points, ahead of Royal (114) and Brianne Holland (17:03), who was eighth.

Harvard-Westlake, led by first- and third-place efforts from Cami Chapus (17:57) and Amy Weissenbach (18:38), won its Div. IV heat with 57 points. Flintridge Sacred Heart won its Div. IV heat with 51 points, led by Stephanie Vargas taking third (18:07) and Paulina Antaplyan (18:50) finishing eighth.

La Reina, Paraclete, Notre Dame and Oaks Christian also moved on to the Div. IV final. Notre Dame's Kazia Mermel (17:56) was seventh in her heat, with La Reina's Ariana Brajkovich (18:52) placing fifth and Paraclete's Madison Grenier (18:53) taking sixth.

Viewpoint's Nicki Maslan won her Div. V heat in 17:56, with Flintridge Prep qualifying second (96) and Village Christian (124).

Emily Kennedy placed third for heat runner-up Desert Christian (18:19) and Sierra Canyon's Raina Sprock (19:00) took eighth to qualify in Div. V.

La Cañada was fourth in its Div.III heat, led by Sonja Cwik's 18th-place result in 18:15.

Golden Valley won its Div. II boys' heat with 33 points, with Kristian Martinez (14:44), Juan David Garcia (14:45) and Nolan Del Valle (14:45) taking second through fourth. Camarillo (93), led by fifth-place Joel Gonzalez (14:50), and Westlake (96) -- featuring seventh-place Mikey Giguere (14:53) -- also advanced.

Hart won its heat with 57 points, with Austin O'Neil taking fourth (14:40), Sam Peckham (14:42) finishing fifth and Josh Sherfey (14:54) in eighth. Saugus also advanced by placing third in its heat with 103 points, led by A.J. Yarnall's ninth-place effort (14:46).

Knight's Bryan Guijarro (14:19) posted the fastest time in Div. I. Quartz Hill's Malik Hayes also won his heat in 14:34.

Burbank, led by Isaiah Amos (14:43) and Sergio Fraire (14:43) taking sixth and seventh, was second in its Div. I heat with 74 points and Burroughs (124) qualified fourth, with Anthony Monroy third in 14:35.

Desert Christian, led by Scott Acton (15:57) in ninth and Bryan Curtis (15:58) in 10th, won its Div. V heat with 69 points and Flintridge Prep relied on four runners in the top 12 to tie Xavier Prep for first in its Div. V race with 52 points. Sierra Canyon's Brandon Baxter (15:21) and Viewpoint's Mason Alford (15:48) qualified individually, along with Buckley as a team.

Crespi, Notre Dame and Harvard-Westlake all advanced in Div. IV, with Notre Dame's Matt Bloch (14:56) posting the top time among the rival schools, followed by Crespi's Nick Privitelli (15:01) and Harvard-Westlake's Aaron de Toledo (15:24). Paraclete's Dillon Murphy (15:35) also qualified.

Oak Park was second in its Div.III heat with 83 points Sahm Bazargan took eighth in 14:59. Rio Mesa's Geno Arthur was second in his Div. III race in 14:37 to help the Spartans advance with the final qualifying spot.