SLO High twins share victory in ‘amazing’ finish at county cross country championship

It’s safe to say Alexis and Eliza Lewis are in sync.

The 18-year-old San Luis Obispo High School seniors and identical twins put on the perfect display during a warm Thursday afternoon at the SLO County Cross Country Meet at Laguna Lake Park.

Running in tandem, the twins crossed the finish line with nearly identical times. In the official scorebook, it was Alexis Lewis who finished in first place with a time of 20:25.7, while Eliza Lewis finished second in 20.26.9.

“It was amazing,” Alexis Lewis said after the race.

The pair was pushing each other and were able to out-duel a pair of Paso Robles runners in the second mile in the 5k race.

“We always tell each other, ‘let’s go now’ and give each other encouraging words,” Eliza Lewis said.

The pair said it was the first time in their high school careers they finished a race in first and second place. While both said they have battled injuries and illness this season and in seasons past, both are running well now and looking to accomplish big things in the coming weeks.

“We really want to make it to state this year, and we have a really good chance,” Alexis Lewis said.

With a third-place finish by SLO High sophomore Alexi Steinmaus, the Tigers went 1-2-3 to take home the girls team title. Paso Robles finished second, and Arroyo Grande third.

Paso’s Cortes Wins Boys Race

Paso Robles junior Pablo Cortes held off Arroyo Grande senior challenger Luis Jazo (16:29.5) to win the boys race in a time of 16:19. Nipomo junior Devin Diaz finished third in 16:31.3.

It wasn’t his best 5k time of the season, but it was the first time Cortes outran Jazo. Jazo defeated Cortes by nearly seven seconds two weeks ago at the PAC 8 Midseason Meet at the Cuesta-Fairbanks Cross Country Course and a week before that at the Clovis Invitational.

Cortes and the Paso Robles boys team also celebrated a team win — its fifth consecutive win in the event.

“We were focused on this race, and I thought our boys performed extremely well,” Paso Robles coach Ivan Huff said.

Arroyo Grande finished second, while SLO High took third.

PAC 8 teams will compete again in the League Finals at the Cuesta-Fairbanks Course next Thursday, while the Los Padres League Finals take place at Morro Bay next Wednesday.

This story was originally published October 26, 2017 at 7:02 PM with the headline "SLO High twins share victory in ‘amazing’ finish at county cross country championship."