Crater senior Josiah Tostenson and Washington standout Owen Powell took their battle to the tape late Saturday night at the Woodbridge Cross Country Classic in Irvine, California, with each breaking the national cross country boys record for three miles.

After recently being slotted in the No. 1 distance runner spot by DyeStat in its early season rankings, Tostenson carried the lead against the fellow senior from Mercer Island, Washington, before a final push to the finish line created what was described as one of the most exciting finishes in the history of the storied race.

Powell wound up pulling out the victory in a time of 13 minutes, 30.3 seconds — not even a blink of an eye ahead of Tostenson at 13:30.5. Both times were under Leo Young’s meet record time, and are the fastest two times ever recorded on a three-mile high school cross country course.

“That last half-mile, I felt Owen on my back,” Tostenson told DyeStat after the race. “I’d been leading it for a minute but I just told myself I’ve got to keep strong. I know Owen’s a 1:48 guy but in my mind I’m also a 1:48 guy so I just wanted to stay strong. I put all that work in, my dream was to come out on top but it was a great battle and I’m happy for Owen. It’s the first race of the season so I’ve got a lot of development left.”

Powell was equally complimentary of Tostenson, who recently announced his college commitment to the University of Washington.

“I love Josiah. He’s an awesome kid and he’s so tough,” Powell told DyeStat. “He really made me work hard for this one today. I just knew going through this race if I could hold on for two miles and then compete after that would be my best chance to run as well as I wanted to.”

Herriman of Utah, the defending national team champions, won an unprecedented third straight team title with 58 points after placing all five of its scorers in the top 25, led by Jackson Spencer, who was sixth overall in 13:49.2. All five Herriman runners arrived within a 23-second span.

Southlake Carroll was second with 173 points, led by junior Caden Leonard (fourth, 13:41.8), and Crater followed in third place with 187 points.

Tayvon Kitchen finished in fifth place overall at 13:43.5, while Ivar Hokanson was 50th overall in 14:25.6. Grant Headley (76th, 14:40.3) and Maxwell Miracle (111th, 14:54.5) also scored for the Comets.

After having an extended postseason of racing, Tostenson said he and the Comets felt good coming into the Woodbridge race.

“I was not worried about fitness at all coming here, I was more worried about trying to live up to my own expectations and just test my fitness,” he said. “Me and Tayvon came out here and we wanted to blow the field up and just show people what kind of fitness we’re at, and that’s exactly what we did.”

It was a big turnaround from last year’s showing for Tostenson, who admittedly had a bit of an early junior season lull before regaining his form.

“My sophomore year I came into Woodbridge and got fifth,” said Tostenson. “Last year, I got 55th, so my senior year, especially cross country-wise, I have a lot to prove and to let people know that I am a cross guy. That’s what I’m going to keep trying to do this season and just live my senior year out to the fullest.”

Tostenson said Saturday’s frantic finish to the elite boys race will provide motivation as he continues through this cross country season and beyond.

“After having a race like this where my goal is to blow up the field and get the win,” he said, “going into the next race my goal is going to be to blow up the field and close a little stronger and work on my closing speed. I already know I’ve got the heart to do it and I’ve just got to keep that focus and come into the next race and show the world that I can close people out.”

Rylee Blade of Santiago High in Corona, California, won the elite girls race in a record-breaking time of 15:20.3.

In the rated varsity girls race, Crater senior Emma West placed fourth in 16:50.9 and was followed by teammates Reese Garnica (17th, 17:23.3), Brynn Davenport (18th, 17:24.8), Haddie Barsalou (22nd, 17:31.3) and Mari Dunlap (56th, 17:59.5).