WESTFIELD — Sophia Jacobs-Townsley of Amherst Regional stayed on course.
So did the Northampton girls cross country team.
Jacobs-Townsley and the Blue Devils emerged as winners during Saturday’s Pioneer Valley Interscholastic Athletic Conference cross country championship.
Jacobs-Townsley, denied a first-place finish after she took a wrong turn in last year’s race, ran true to form and won the individual title. She covered the 3.1-mile course at Stanley Park in 18 minutes, 19 seconds.
“I was a little nervous about that,’’ admitted Jacobs-Townsley. “I was a little disappointed with my time because I was hoping to break 18 (minutes).
Depth was key for Northampton, which finished first with 51 points. Amherst was runner-up with 78 points and Hampshire Regional took third with 103 points.
The runners used the race as a tune-up for the Western Massachusetts meet on Nov. 13. It will also be held at Stanley Park.
Jacobs-Townsley, a sophomore, was not about to repeat her freshman mistake of 2015. Seasoned runners rarely make the same mistake twice and she was not about to let that happen.
“I learned that I am probably more of a time-oriented person,’’ she said. “I know how to prepare for different courses.’’
Leila Markosian led Northampton by finishing fifth in 19:37. She was among the top five Blue Devils to post personal bests.’’
“My time was better than it was last year and I’m happy with that,’’ she said. “Our mantra is about the team and we’re excited for Western Mass.’’
Teammate Evelyn Burke secured sixth in 19:56. Mary Yount gave the Blue Devils a third runner among the top 10 after placing ninth in 20:15.
Mairead Blatner was 16th in 20:29 and Jemma Fisher 17th in 20:36 for the Blue Devils.
“Hard work pays off,’’ Hamp coach Ryan Davis said. “They battled through injuries and made sure everybody is doing their thing. Running is about team, not individuals.’’
Zada Forde finished eighth for the Hurricanes in 20:07. Also among the key runners for Amherst were Julia Hopley (20:26) and Augusta Fricke (20:28), who were 14th and 15th, respectively.
Sophia Prouty led Hampshire to its third-place finish after she finished 11th in 20:21, a mere second behind the 10th place finisher. Amanda Adams (20:46) and Haley Marek (20:48) pushed each other and finished 19th and 20th, respectively.
South Hadley finished seventh. The Tigers were led by Cora Graves, who placed 22nd in 20:54.
Belchertown was 13th thanks in part to Jillian Paterwic’s 21:13 for 28th place.
Frontier sophomore Fiona Ferry placed 70th in 22:44 as the Red Hawks finished 18th.
Granby was 20th as eighth-grader Jenna Learned was 52nd in 22:07.
Gateway finished 21st, but cast an eye toward the future. The Gators were led by freshman Autumn Marchetto (24:42), and eighth-graders Madison Carpenter (24:42) and Mia Gozgit (24:55).