ARCADIA - The venue was the same for Arcadia High School's Catrina McAlister, but the cheers and camera flashes were new.

Under the bright lights and in front of a capacity crowd, McAlister convincingly showed why the spotlight belonged to her, clocking a personal best of 10 minutes, 27.86 seconds to win the 3,200-meter invitational Saturday night at the 43rd Arcadia Invitational.

McAlister, a junior, finished third in the event last year, but there was no denying her bid for glory this time around. It didn't take long for McAlister to pull away from the field; in fact, McAlister was so far ahead by the third lap that she couldn't believe the separation.

"I was looking at the screen and that helped a lot," said McAlister, who collapsed in the arms of a friend when she crossed the finish line.

That she was spent was apparent, telling a friend she hadn't yet gathered herself enough to hold the winning medal and watch. A few minutes later, though, she sported a wide smile as she addressed a crowd that she easily and quickly won over.

"I knew there were girls that would be right there with me, and that's exactly what happened," she said. "They stayed there until I knew I was ready to go and went."

That happened after the one-mile mark.

"That's when I knew it was time to go," she said. "I was looking at the screen and saw the gap and was like, `Wow.' That really motivated me to keep separating from the crowd.

"It was weird to see such a big gap, but I kept telling myself, `This is my track.' I practice on this every day, so there's no reason why I couldn't run well today."

McAlister improved on her previous best of 10:29 set at the Irvine Invitational.

Bishop Amat's Kylie Price, a junior, won the 100-meter dash seeded event with a 12.00 mark, edging Precylla Nared of Trabuco Hills, who clocked 12.07. Price also finished fourth in the long jump with a mark of 18-9 1/2. San