FRESNO — Not far from the finish line at Woodward Park on Saturday, Livermore High senior Diana George sat next to a shady tree, trying to collect herself. She had just given her all in the California Interscholastic Federation State Championships girls Division II race, placing a career-best sixth in the culmination of her fine cross country career for the Cowboys.

George's teammates were gathering a few feet away as she sipped bottled water, looking spent.

"She's amazing, man," Cowboys senior Abigail Gregg said. "It's crazy. She's what inspires all of us. She makes it meaningful for all of us."

But the Cowboys don't just travel by George. The senior, who managed to stave off Simi Valley junior Liberty Miller in the final two strides — both girls were timed in 18 minutes, 1 seconds over 5,000 meters — was backed by a stout team effort. The lean, green Livermore girls squad, which with just 15 members is dwarfed in size by the traditional state powerhouses, finished fifth, the best finish in school history.

"We rode a nice wave this season," Livermore coach Ed Salazar said. "The thing about this girls team is they didn't run a bad race all season."

Overall, valley participants delivered solid efforts at the big meet. Runners in five boys and girls divisions (based on school size) vied for precious medals by placing in the top 10, or to simply hold their own in fast-paced races.

Monte Vista senior Mike Roderick, the East Bay Athletic League and North Coast Section Division I boys champion, finished 34th (15:48) among 194 runners. Tyler Valdes of Dana Hills won the race in 15:05.

California junior Colleen Lillig, the EBAL and NCS Division I girls champ, capped her sparkling season with a 17th-place finish (18:16) in Division I girls. That race was won by San Clemente senior Alex Dunne, who ran a good chunk of the 3.1 miles with only one shoe, finishing with only a sock on her left foot.

In addition to Roderick's big run in Division I, Amador Valley's balanced boys team achieved sweet redemption against NCS champion College Park in the team standings. The Dons placed 11th with 303 points, and College Park was 14th with 376. Amador was paced by seniors Brett Hornig (61st, 16:04), Garrett Ward (65th, 16:05) and Mike Marlin (76th, 16:10). Granada senior Drew Callen (52nd, 15:59) and junior Alex Summers (59th, 16:03) were the EBAL's No. 2 and No. 3 finishers in Division I.

Amador coach Peter Scarpelli had high praise for his runners, calling it a "great day for a wonderful group of seniors." He said they epitomized the credo of "hard work, dedication and just believing in yourself."

The big news in Division I was Dana Hills becoming the first school to win the boys and girls state titles the same state meet.

Behind Lillig in Division I girls were Foothill sophomore Jennifer Goldstein (73rd, 19:15), Granada senior Hayley Swanson (104, 19:39) and Monte Vista freshman Kyla Aiuto (111, 19:44).

A three-time EBAL individual champion who finished second in this year's EBAL meet to Lillig, George was right with the lead group for about two miles but faded late.

"I wanted to get a good start, and then when we got to the (1?1/2 mile mark), I realized I was right with the front group. I was really surprised," she said. "I didn't expect to be that far up."

George said she drew on all four years of her hard work and preparation to stave off the fast-closing Miller.

Salazar mentioned junior No. 5 runner Hayley Sa, who scored in a meet for the first time this season, as a big key to his team's showing.