EUGENE -- Even by Jesuit's standards, what happened Saturday at the OSAA girls cross country championships was outstanding.

Not only did the Crusaders extend their string of state championships to seven, but sophomore Annamarie Maag prevailed out of a pack of strong contenders in the final half-mile and won in 18 minutes, 23.3 seconds.

Teammates Payton Schutte and Noelle VanRysselberghe finished fifth and sixth, and Adrienne Demaree and Shannon Mahoney placed 14th and 16th. The Crusaders' 36 points won the Class 6A championship with ease. Second-place St. Mary's Academy scored 108 points despite putting three in the top 10.

"Our plan is to go out and do what we've done all season and keep it as simple as possible," said Van Rysselberghe, who has been part of four championship teams.

When Maag reached the track for the final 300 meters at Lane Community College, she was two strides behind St. Mary's senior Alexandra Jones -- within reach of becoming Jesuit's first individual winner since Melissa Lucas in 1993.

"I thought about that when I