Photos by Ray Hamill/HumboldtSports.com – Ella Owsley approaches the finish line on Wednesday.

By Ray Hamill — The top two runners in H-DNL cross country this season are showing no signs of slowing down.

On Wednesday at the Arcata Community Forest, Ella Owsley and Damian Dinan each took top spot once again in the fifth round of league races, hosted by Arcata High.

Owsley won the girls race for the fourth straight week and finished the 5K course in a time of 22 minutes, 4.18 seconds.

The Fortuna senior appears to be getting stronger as the season progresses and outpaced the field by almost 38 seconds.

Eureka senior Charlotte Leonard was next home in a time of 22:42.01 and has now placed second in all four of her league races this season.

Arcata’s Ai-Lan McGoldrick (22:51.55) placed third to lead another strong showing for the host school, which took the team event.

The Tigers placed four runners in the top seven to score 23 points, followed by Eureka (38) in second.

Arcata junior Gabrielle Ducate (23:10.56) was fourth, with Eureka’s Sequoia Ashby (23:34.14) in fifth.

Alauna Thompson (Arcata), Debi Dorfliger (Arcata), Gabby Crosswhite (Fortuna), Sarah Curtis (Del Norte) and Josephine Maguire (Arcata) rounded out the top 10.

In the boys race, Dinan completed the 5K course in a time of 18:23.07.

It was the junior standout’s fifth victory in five league races as he continues his impressive season.

Eureka senior Daniel Shaver was next best in a time of 18:32.88, his third second-place finish of the season and his second straight.

Four different schools were represented in the top four, with Arcata sophomore Reece Thompson (19:16.21) in third, followed by Del Norte’s Dylan Rodriguez (19:40.79).

Damian Dinan, center left, and teammate Jace Thomson

Dinan’s teammate Jace Thomson, a junior, placed fifth in a time of 19:47.61.

The Arcata Tigers’ depth helped them to the team win.

Arcata scored 37 points, followed by Eureka (48), McKinleyville (74) and Del Norte (108).

Only one senior placed in the top seven.

Nathan Whitney (Arcata), Levi Browne (Arcata), Ashton Plessinger (Eureka), Everett Docherty (Eureka) and Kai Firmodig (Arcata) placed sixth through 10th.