McKenzie Dean was excused from her favorite class -- weightlifting -- to talk about her latest success as a runner: winning her second Nevada Class 3-A cross country championship.

The victory for the Pahrump Valley High School junior came Saturday on the hilly, physically grinding Rancho San Rafael Park course in Reno. Her time ("It wasn't my best," she acknowledged) was 20 minutes, 51 seconds. Brianna Drago, a freshman from Incline, was second in 21:17, and Jo Jo Stanton, a long-time rival out of Boulder City, was third in 21:47.

Drago is the heir-apparent in 3-A cross country, considering the fact that Dean and the rest of her PVHS teammates are moving into Class 4-A in fall 2008.

"I like the idea of running against good competition, and that's what will happen when we go into 4-A," said Dean, admitting it was difficult to get excited about running in races "where I was so far ahead, it was like I was running by myself sometimes."

(If Dean had been in 4-A this fall, she would have finished 13th. Kelsey Smith of South Tahoe won the state 4-A title in 19:06 and the leading Southern runner was Spring Valley's Kourtney Moody, who finished eighth in 20:25. Still, only one other Southern girl, Michaelanne Laurent of Henderson Coronado, was faster; her time was 20:45.)

"I have had some colleges looking at me, and my goal is to get a full-ride to run," said Dean, who has a realistic view of her chances of achieving such an offer from a high-level Division I school. "Mel Lawrence (the former Reno star) got just a partial scholarship offer, and look what she accomplished. So I know I have a lot of work to do."

Dean is looking forward to the track season. As a freshman and again last season, she won the state 3200-meter championship and is an odds-on favorite to do it again.

"When I won that title (as a freshman), I had no idea I could do that ... I didn't even want to run the 3200," said Dean. "I thought I would do the 400 and 800 ... maybe even the 1600. But the 3200 ... never."

As for her effort at the state finals last weekend, Dean admitted she was nervous.

"The weather (cold), the altitude (4,500 feet) and course (new in her experience) worried me," said Dean. But McKenzie -- with a large support group in attendance -- was able to overcome those concerns and win going away

"There was one point in the race where you start thinking 'Should I push harder?' or 'Should I take it easy?'," said Dean. "I wanted to defend my title ..." So, push elevated to shove physically and mentally.

As for weightlifting being her favorite course ... Dean smiled. She is a 3.7 GPA student, studying honors courses in chemistry, Spanish and American Literature ...

Stephanie Andros was Pahrump Valley's only other girl competitor; she was 30th in 25:26. In the boys' final, David Jacobi was 34th in 21:01.

The team champions, with scores reflecting displacements for individual runners) were:

Class 3-A Girls -- Winnemucca Lowry 49 (6-7-11-12-13); Dayton 60 (3-8-10-16-23); Spring Creek 67 (4-9-17-18-19); Las Vegas Faith Lutheran 70 (2-5-20-21-22) and Boulder City 101 (1-15-25-28-32).

Class 3-A Boys -- Winnemucca Lowry 33 (winner Matt Pike 17:37, as well as 4-7-10-11); Faith Lutheran 66 (8-9-15-16-18); Truckee, Calif. 69 (2-5-14-21-27); Dayton 74 (3-12-17-19-23) and Boulder City 109 (6-13-29-30-31).

Class 2-A Girls -- Reno Sage Ridge 39 (Winner Claire Kelly 20:57, as well as 2-3-14-19); North Tahoe 50 (5-6-10-12-17); Laughlin 59 (4-8-9-18-20); Virginia City 62 (7-11-13-15-16) and Las Vegas The Meadows 122 (21-23-24-26-28).

Class 2-A Boys -- Sage Ridge 27 (Winner Nathan Chellman 17:26) as well as 3-4-5-14); Zephyr Cove Whittell 50 (2-7-8-15-18); North Tahoe 57 (6-10-12-13-16); Laughlin 88 (9-11-20-23-25); West Wendover 147 (24-26-31-32-34) and The Meadows 148 (19-27-28-35-39).

Class 4-A Girls -- Carson 63 (3-10-15-17-18); Reno 67 (4-5-6-25-27); South Tahoe (winner Kelsey Smith 19:06, as well as 2-14-21-31); Henderson Coronado 91 (7-11-16-23-34); Las Vegas Centennial 98 (12-13-20-24-29); Elko 130 (8-9-35-36-42); Las Vegas Palo Verde 161 (26-28-30-38-39) and Henderson Foothill 239 (40-48-49-50-52).

Class 4-A Boys -- Galena 39 (winner Bryan Tibaduliza 16:22), as well as 4-6-7-21); Carson 82 (2-18-19-20-23); Reno 102 (9-15-16-28-34), Silverado 109 (10-12-14-35-38); Centennial 112 (3-8-27-33-41); Shadow Ridge 128 (5-13-25-37-48); Foothill 142 (11-22-30-39-40) and Reno Bishop Manogue 155 (17, 24, 32, 36, 46).