CENTER VALLEY - With a first-place finish in Saturday's 39th DeSales Centaur Invitational, you'd expect little disappointment from Marian's Tina Capparell. Especially since the Marian senior blew away the rest of the competition by over a minute.

But for Capparell, who finished in 19:20.93 in her second trip to DeSales, she is always looking for ways to improve in her final season. Despite hoping for a faster time, Capparell wasn't threatened as she breezed to a victory."It was definitely a slow, challenging course," Capparell said. "I was hoping for the 18s, but I'll take it. I underestimated the hills and everything, but I felt pretty good."Capparell sought a time below 19 minutes, a feat she already hit twice this fall. She opened her senior season with a personal record at the Northampton Invitational, placing second in 18:22. She then ran an 18:36 in Marian's first league dual meet on Thursday.However, with a course as challenging as the one on DeSales' campus that features a number of difficult hilly sections, it was tough for anyone to reach that mark. It didn't help that a strong storm brought a downpour rain on Friday night, just hours before the race began on Saturday afternoon."Personally, I like the Northampton course," Capparell said. "I ran that last weekend and did a fast time there. Personally I like the flatter grass courses. But this definitely changes it up a lot."It was Capparell's second trip to DeSales. Her first came during her freshman year when she finished second. Not much has changed in three years."I did a lot more miles over the summer, and that definitely helps a lot," Capparell said. "I just took it more serious."A number of other Times News area runners had impressive finishes as well. Northwestern's Madeline Consuelos placed fourth and the Lady Tigers finished third as a team with 103 points. Owen J. Roberts and Parkland finished first and second, respectively."I wasn't too happy with my time, but I wasn't expecting my fastest time since it is a hillier course," said Consuelos, who ran a 20:46.94."I run this course a lot and I walk it a lot. I really got to know how to run this course, [and] how to attack the hills. I'm very mentally strong on this course just because I know it so well."With Consuelos's experience at DeSales, she understood not to waste all of her energy in the first downhill mile. Instead, she was able to make her move in the second half of the course, the uphill section part of the race."The first mile is just so fast because it is mostly downhill," Consuelos said. "Everyone is just so excited. But once you enter the woods everything seems to calm down more. There's not as many spectators, and you notice a lot more shifts in placing. I think the cornfield is where I definitely seem to kick it into the next gear. I know I have a mile left."Consuelos had a goal coming in to improve on last year's ninth-place finish. She did just that by jumping five spots and earning a medal.A number of Times News area boys runners made a name for themselves as well. Northwestern's Robert Leiser was the highest finisher in 20th place, running a 17:35.70. Leiser's teammate, Phillip Castine, also placed in the top 30.A PACK OF TIGERS ... The Northwestern girls placed five runners in the top 31 for its third-place finish as a team. After Consuelos, Molly Tarvin (19th), Kailyn Jones (24th), Alyssa Zack (25th) and Sarah Supplee (31st) rounded out their top five.FOLLOWING IN HER SISTER'S FOOTSTEPS ... Tina Capparell's sister, junior Nicole Capparelli, was Marian's second finisher. She placed 27th out of 125 runners in a time of 21:55.18.THEY CAN'T BE CAUGHT ... Much like Capparell won the girls' race by over a minute, the boys' race saw a similar finish. Owen J. Roberts' Liam Conway won in 15:59.23. The second-place runner, Parkland's Riley Williamson, crossed the finish line 37 seconds later.DESALES INVITATIONALRESULTS/LEGENDBangor (B), Marian (Mar), Northern Lehigh (NL), North Penn (NP), Northwestern (NW), Owen J. Roberts (OJR), Palmerton (Palm), Parkland (Park), Stroudsburg (Str), Vill Joseph Marie (VJM).Top 5 overall and other Times News area finishers in top 100BOYS1. Liam Conway (OJR) 15:59.23, 2. Riley Williamson (Park) 16:36.69, 3. Brendan O'Toole (NP) 16:45.19, 4. Nicholas Bower (Park) 16:53.19, 5. Matt Dodon (Str) 16:54.21. 20. Robet Leiser (NW) 17:35.70, 26. Phillip Castrine (NW) 17:58.47, 30. Brandon Stasulli (Mar) 18:06.23, 36. Jacob Martinez (Palm) 18:13.24, 47. Preston Kemry (NL) 18:33.46, 56. Hunter Haas (NL) 18:46.28, 70. Kane Flickinger (NW) 19:01.44, 95. Joseph Pleban (NW) 19:40.65, 97. Joseph Siberini (NW) 19:48.44.GIRLS1. Tina Capparell (Mar) 19:20.93, 2. Autumn Sands (OJR) 20:29.94, 3. Martina Sell (B) 20:34.30, 4. Madeline Consuelos (NW) 20:46.94, 5. Brianna Kling (VJM) 20:47.73, 19. Molly Tarvin (NW) 21:30.43, 24. Kailyn Jones (NW) 21:41.73, 25. Alyssa Zack (NW) 21:42.70, 27. Nicole Capparell (Mar) 21:55.18, 31. Sarah Supplee (NW) 22:04.92, 42. Hannah Herzon (NW) 22:25.96, 63. Ali Lorah (NL) 23:19.72, 69. Katie Guelcher (NL) 23:30.67, 80. Brianna Brennan (Palm) 23:59.95, 83. Carolyn Mehallo (Mar) 24:22.93, 88. Julia Kreisl (Mar) 24:41.45, 90. Kristen Brown (NW) 24:41.99.