OUTSTANDING EFFORT—Thousand Oaks High junior Melanie Joerger finished in fourth place with a time of 18:42.14 at last weekend’s Ventura County Cross Country Championships in Ojai. RICHARD GILLARD/Acorn Newspapers

The candy corn could wait. The Bigfoot costume couldn’t.

A festive atmosphere permeated the Ventura County Cross Country Championships at Lake Casitas in Ojai last weekend.

With Halloween two days away, several runners donned costumes, including the fabled Sasquatch, a fleet-footed Transformer and a jailbird on the run.

The athletes offered the best entertainment, however.

With runners plowing up and down the hilly terrain, fans wildly cheered on the surging packs. Although the Ventura County Championships has little bearing on the postseason, it’s considered a special race.

“It’s one of the most enjoyable meets of the year,” said Mike Smith, Camarillo High’s athletic director and boys’ head coach.

“All the schools in the county are here at the same time. It’s nice to see all these great athletes in one place on one day.”

The Scorpions have won multiple county championships, including a 2003 upset special. That team, which included Smith’s son Pete, pulled off a victory in the pouring rain.

Smith and the Scorpions celebrated another team triumph last weekend.

Heyden Wooff secured his third straight boys’ county title, while fellow Scorpions Adam Lucero, Joel Gonzalez, Esteban Vega, Cole Couchman and Daniel Stebbings contributed to the team victory.

Simi Valley dominated the varsity girls’ race with Pioneers Sarah Baxter (first), Erika Barr (fifth), Madelyn Vorgitch (seventh), Milana Maddalone (ninth), Megan McNally (11th) and Rachel Vinas (13th) leading the charge.

Clarissa Wentworth of Newbury Park was all smiles after her fourth and final race at the three-mile Lake Casitas course.

Wentworth and teammate Alexandra Patterson, who both had top-10 finishes in the girls’ JV race, showed off their snazzy tie-dye shirts commemorating the race.

“A lot of people cheer for you even if you’re not on their team,” said Wentworth, a senior who recorded the fastest time of any race in her career.

“The whole race, everyone’s pumped up.”

Patterson watched in awe as Simi Valley’s Baxter obliterated the competition. Baxter, only a freshman, won the varsity race in 17 minutes, 42.45 seconds.

Oak Park’s Kaycee Holcomb was second in 18:25.21.

“Watching Sarah Baxter run is insane every time,” Patterson said.

Several Pioneers enjoyed big days, including junior Rachel Brown.

Injured during her sophomore season, Brown placed 20th in the girls’ junior varsity race.

The Pioneer said her squad approaches each race seriously.

“We all take every race as a big race,” Brown said. “Of course you want to be No. 1 in your county. It’s a big deal.

Westlake freshman Justin Tavasoli camped at Lake Casitas as a youngster. He enjoyed his first scramble on the Ojai course.

“This was one of my best races,” Tavasoli said. “It’s a great feeling when you’re done with the race and hanging out with your friends and team.”

While Tavasoli got his first taste of the event, Moorpark senior Michael Romain raced for the fourth and final time at the Ventura County Championships.

“There are a lot of fast kids and the course is fast,” Romain said. “Fast is fun.”

Minutes after finishing his race—the second-to-last event of his high school career—Romain couldn’t help but feel slightly sentimental.

“Knowing everyone’s doing the same crazy thing, you feel a kinship,” the Musketeer said. “It’s kind of sad that it’s the last time here.”

Many runners will run for the last time during this week’s league finals.

The Marmonte League championships take place today at Agoura High. The Tri-Valley League finals are today at Lake Casitas, while the Pacific View League finals will run this afternoon at Oxnard College.

Oak Park co-head coach Steve Kilroy said he was happy to see hardworking senior Candace Matsunaga claw her way up the pack for a solid finish.

Matsunaga, who ran at the state meet as a sophomore, finished in 20:01.38.

“It felt really good,” the Eagle said. “I felt really comfortable out there. The course is amazing. There are a perfect amount of hills. It’s better than Mt. SAC. There are so many great memories.”

Emily Wood of Grace Brethren hopes for a happier finish in 2011. The junior Lancer led early in the girls’ varsity race—ahead of Baxter—before shin splints forced her to the sidelines.

“Next year I hope to do a lot better,” Wood said.

Newbury Park’s Shannon Byrne helped the Panther girls earn a second-place finish in the team standings. The senior nabbed eighth overall in a course personal record 18:57.64.

“I’m really proud of my team,” Byrne said. “Everyone on varsity medaled. We’re kind of underdogs. We’re a real raw team, but we’re working hard and we came out strong. We know how far we want to go, and this is just one step there.”