WALNUT -- It was a performance that in any of the past six seasons, against any other opponent in the Southern Section, would have been good enough for the Saugus girls' cross country team to win a championship.

After all, the Centurions own every significant team record on the prestigious 2.91-mile course at Mount San Antonio College.

But against a Simi Valley lineup that possessed all the components -- a talented frontrunner, a tight pack among scoring athletes and senior leadership -- that had helped Saugus win five consecutive section titles, the Centurions' impressive run came to an end Saturday in the Div. II final.

Sarah Baxter set the sophomore course record by clocking 16 minutes, 44 seconds, and the Pioneers placed all five scorers in the top 23 to edge Saugus 60-69, handing the Centurions their first loss at Mount SAC since a third-place finish in the 2005 Div. I final.

"It's so cool. I'm so excited. It was an amazing race," said Baxter, who eclipsed the 2004 sophomore mark of 16:48 set by Reno's Marie Lawrence.

"Everyone stepped up to the plate."

Fueled by Baxter's 22-second victory over Saugus senior Karis Frankian (17:06), Simi Valley clocked a program-record 88:25, joining Saugus in the rarefied air of breaking the 89-minute barrier at Mount SAC to capture the program's first championship.

Although senior Jenay Jauregui joined Frankian in the top 10 with an eighth-place finish in 17:33, Simi Valley responded with senior Karla Vernola taking 10th in a personal-best 17:38 and senior Erika Barr placing 17th in 17:50.

"I felt relaxed the whole time," Vernola said. "As long as I'm near Erika, then I feel comfortable. It just feels like a workout and we continue to push each other. There's something about racing at Mount SAC that just puts me at ease. Cross country is Mount SAC and I just feel like I know what I have to do here."

With sister Jessica sidelined with a shin injury, senior Jordan McCall delivered a clutch effort for the Centurions by placing 20th in 18:03, but Simi Valley responded again by having freshman Sarah Riggs (18:05) finish 21st and junior Rachel Vinas (18:08) take 23rd.

"Saugus is such a damn good program and they're so well-coached and so well-prepared, so we knew it was going to take a great effort in order to win," Simi Valley coach Roger Evans said. "You don't win five state titles without knowing what to do to get it together at the right time. Our girls have never been in this situation before where they're the favorite, but they handled themselves with a lot of poise and confidence, and that's a credit to Karla and Erika."

Heidi Hoslet and Katie Huntington, both juniors, ran 18:15 to finish 26th and 27th for Saugus, which clocked 89:12.

Abigail Frankian wasn't too far behind for the Centurions, placing 33rd in 18:26, just ahead of Golden Valley's Chelsey Totten (18:27) and Canyon's Madison Hills (18:28). Canyon's Valeria Soto (18:35) was 40th, Westlake's Nicki Ghazarian (18:41) took 44th and Simi Valley freshman Desirae Jones (18:47) finished 47th.

"We didn't lose it. They went out and won it," Saugus coach Rene Paragas said.

"Simi Valley was basically close to a course-record time and it was perfect conditions and they stepped up and seized the day. Jenay ran a great race and didn't pick up any points because they started at one with Baxter. We went out and wanted to win the race, and it basically became a dual meet out there between us, but we just didn't have enough at the end. But I'm really proud of the girls for how they competed."

Simi Valley backed up its impressive effort on the Mount SAC course after winning the grand sweepstakes title Oct. 22, but faces another significant challenge next Saturday in snapping Saugus' run of five straight state titles at Woodward Park in Fresno.

"Nothing right now can top this. I couldn't ask for anything more for my senior year," Barr said. "But state is what really matters."

Led by Melanie Joerger's 24th-place effort (18:10), Thousand Oaks finished fifth with 193 points.

Caitlin Turner (18:37) was 41st, sisters Ashton and Kalin Padberg both clocked 18:53 to finish 52nd and 53rd, followed by Genevieve Johnson (18:57) in 54th.

Despite clocking 17:50 and finishing 16th, Westlake freshman Jenny Giguere missed an individual state qualifying berth by nine seconds. Moorpark freshman Monika Gyalay (18:06) was 22nd.