The State Championships are Electrifying

The State Championships are Electrifying!!!

Glendale's women capture that elusive title, while the San Bernardino men repeat as champions!

11/17/07

The Glendale women have come close before, but had come up a little short of winning the title in previous state meets. However, that was not the case today at the California Community College State Championships, as the Glendale women dominated the competition with a decisive victory. With their top athlete, Tove Berg, leading the way, the Glendale women placed their first five finishers in the top twenty giving them a 53 point victory over nearest competitor Orange Coast. OCC's Crystal Reed took the individual honors running an outstanding time of 17:33, yet, it was Glendale's combination of Tove Berg, Vivien Wadeck, and Justina Sadauskaite in the top ten that ended any question of who was going to come home with the first place trophy. El Camino, Cerritos, and Southwestern rounded out the top five teams.

The men's competition proved to be much tighter as San Bernardino Valley and San Diego Mesa waged a very close battle on the 4 mile course at Woodward Park. Mesa's Daniel Gonia led his team's charge winning the individual title in a fine performance of 19:59. He was followed by three Mesa athletes in the top 25. SBVC answered, however, with three of their athletes in the top twenty led by a 3rd and 4th place finish of Carlos Perez and Matthew Prentice. With three other athletes finishing in the top 40, it was enough to hold off Mesa, edging them by 12 points 90-102. Mt. SAC, American River and College of the Canyons were how the rest of the top five finished respectively.

Results --- Men Women

Mt. SAC to replace former host site of Irvine Park for So Cal Championships

The Southern California Championship competition site has been moved from Irvine Park to Mt. SAC due to the recent fires that are still burning in the Orange County region. The meet is still scheduled for Saturday, November 3rd. The race times of 10:00am for the women, and 11:00am for the men remain unchanged. Because of the recent cancellation of many of the conference championship competitions, an overflow race has been scheduled for 11:45am. The overflow race will run the men and women combined, however, men will run the four mile route while the women will run the 5k course. The overflow race is for eligible community college athletes only. No open/unattached runners or club teams will be allowed. There will be a coaches meeting at 9:30am, just prior to the start of the Women's Southern California Cross Country Championship race.

Conference Championships are Cancelled throughout the Southland

10/25/07

This afternoon, the COA notified all California Community Colleges in the Southern Section, that because of the recent fires that are still burning and the unhealthful air quality that they have created, that all conference championships that have yet to be contested, have now been cancelled. Due to the cancellation of the majority of conference championships, all colleges will be allowed to advance their teams to the Southern California Championships which remain scheduled for Saturday, November 3rd at Irvine Regional Park. All Coaches are asked to enter their athletes into the Southern California Championships through Direct Athletics by Monday at 5:00pm. Because there are no conference championships, there is no need for an at-large meeting. Mark Covert announced that the at-large meeting that was scheduled for this weekend has also been cancelled. If you have not run your conference meet, you could still do so by bringing a memory stick with you, getting a backup of the
meet, delete the teams not from your conference and then score it. If this is something you would want to do, please arrange for someone from your conference to bring a stick with them and a laptop and you could have the results of your conference meet 20 minutes after getting the Hytek back up.

San Bernardino Men and Women Win Conference Crowns

10/24/07

SBVC men's and women's teams win at Foothill Championships.

The San Bernardino men and women ran away with conference titles today at the Foothill Conference Championships, held at Lancaster National Soccer Park in Antelope Valley. SBVC's Carlos Perez continued his fine season as he went on to the individual victory as SBVC placed five runners in the top five for a decisive victory. Antelope Valley placed 2nd overall with three runners in the top 15.

On the women's side, the race was much closer as the SBVC women edged College of the Desert 24-33. Melissa Olmos of Antelope Valley, however, was the individual champion.

Glendale women stay dominant while the men's race tightens at Western States Championships

10/24/07

The Glendale women continued their romp through the Southland as they easily won the conference team title at the Western States Championships this morning. Due to the raging fires that have engulfed the Southland, the Finals were moved to the very tough Fairbanks Cross Country Course in San Luis Obispo. Tove Berg, once again led an onslaught that found Glendale's top 5 women finishing in the top 8. Tove Berg continued her stellar season winning the race easily finishing 25 seconds ahead of teammate Vivien Wadeck.

The men's race proved to be closer as Glendale seemed to be closing the gap on College of the Canyons. Canyons did end up winning the race, however, Glendale had three runners in the top 8. Yet, it was not enough, as Canyons edged Glendale by 13 points. Oxnard's Miguel Cisneros followed up his victory at Santa Barbara with an individual championship.

60th Annual
Mt. SAC Cross Country Invitational

Southwestern's women is the first California team, while the men's section is won by home team Mt. SAC

10/13/07

Southwestern placed three runners in the top 16 holding off home team Mt. SAC to be the first California team in the women's division of the Mt. SAC Invite this past Friday. Mt. SAC's Christine Cortez was the first individual to cross the finish line capturning teh 60th Annual Invitational Title.

On the men's side, Mt. SAC brought a victory back for the home team as they won by a narrow margin of 9 points over Southwestern 62-71. College of the Canyons was the third California team. Ismael Samano was the first California finisher, placing 2nd overall behind Pima's Craig Curley.

In three days the Mt. SAC Staff put on over 120 races for over 24,000 runners and tens of thousands of spectators and coaches, making the Mt. SAC Cross Country Invitational the largest cross country competition in the world. Special thanks to Coaches Doug Todd, Mike Goff and the Mt. SAC Staff for their hard work in promoting community colleges and the sport of cross country!

OCC Women Win at Titan Invite

Against a field of mainly university teams, the Pirate women capture the crown.

10/20/07

Against a field of mainly four year schools, the OCC women proved that the California Community College teams can run with anyone. Placing three women in the top twenty five, OCC edged USC by a narrow seven points for the victory. Cassie Mitchell was the first OCC women in placing 8th overall and finishing just 15 seconds ahead teammate Crystal Reed.

OCC women defeated a field that included Cal State Fullerton, UC Riverside, and UC Irvine. The Pirates will be in action next at their conference championships this week.

Santa Barbara Invite serves as tune up for Conference Championship week

10/14/07

Glendale's women continue to roll and Fresno men grab the victory by the beach.

Tove Berg ran away with another invitational win while leading her team to another dominant victory at the Santa Barbara Invite this past Saturday. Placing their top five runners in the top 10, Glendale came away with the easy victory. El Camino and Cerritos were 2nd and 3rd respectively.

On the men's side, it was Miguel Cisneros who came away with the individual win but it was the Fresno men that came away with the team victory. Riverside came back strong after a fall of a couple of their athletes near the start of the race. Mike Munoz worked his way back through the field to place in the top five and lead his team to a 2nd place finish.

What a Meet! The So Cal Preview - Howard Brubaker Invite rocks as top teams face off!

Reed tops Berg, but Glendale hands OCC's women its first regular season defeat since 2001. Coronado wins again, while leading Canyons to another victory!

10/5/07

A huge field gathered at the starting line for both the men's and women's races today at Irvine Park for the So Cal Preview/Howard Brubaker Invitational. Almost every ranked team in the southland was in attendance and neither race would disappoint the numerous spectators who lined the route.

A total of 28 full scoring teams were ready to traverse the 5k course in the women's race. Many had their eye on the much anticipated match up between OCC's Crystal Reed and Glendale's Tove Berg. Berg and Reed ran through the first mile together, but Reed started to pull away heading into mile two. Reed would eventually go onto the victory running an outstanding time of 18:07, Berg was 2nd in 18:52. The team race also featured the undefeated schools of OCC and Glendale, as well as top ranked teams, Mt. SAC, Cerritos, Southwestern and El Camino.

For the first time in 6 years, the OCC women suffered a regular season defeat. In a very close contest, Glendale bested OCC by a narrow 11 point margin of 40 to 51. Both schools placed three runners in the top ten, yet, Glendale placed 5 in the top 14 to secure the win. Southwestern, Mt. SAC, El Camino and Cerritos rounded out the top six teams.

On the men's side, many top runners and teams toed the line. Unlike the women's race, two runners did not separate themselves from the pack in the early going. Instead, a pack of many runners were still together as late as the 2.5 mile mark.

Miguels Cisneros of Oxnard and Canyons' star, Alfredo Coronado, separated themselves from the rest of the field after the third mile, However, it was Coronado who had more left at the end to win the race by a margin of 4 seconds over Cisneros, 20:15 to 20:19. In the team competition, Canyons grabbed a solid victory as well, winning the meet by a comfortable margin. Riverside, Mt. SAC, Antelope Valley, Southwestern and El Camino rounded out the top six teams.

A Massive Meet for this Weekend!!!

10/2/07

One of the largest meets in years will be taking place this weekend at Irvine Park as 35 colleges will take part in the Southern California Preview Meet/Howard Brubaker Invitational. Exactly 400 men and 352 women will make up the huge field that should prove to be one of the highlight meets of the year.

Almost every one of the top ranked teams in Southern California will be in attendance and individual match-ups will include the top talent in the area. Runners such as Oxnard's Miguel Cisneros, Mt. SAC's Luis Medina, Cerritos' Daniel-Clifford Sorenson, Orange Coast's Brandon Babiracki, College of the Canyons, Alfredo Coronado, Riverside's Mike Munoz, and San Bernardino Valley's Carlos Perez will be featured on the men's side.

The women's side will also include some amazing teams and individual performers. This will also be the first time that undefeated teams, OCC and Glendale square off as well as be the first time to witness the much anticipated race between Glendale's Tove Berg and OCC's Crystal Reed. The top five ranked women's teams in the section will battle for the victory in what should prove to be one of the highlight events of the year.

Foothill Invitational

Southwestern women grab team title while San Bernardino Men continue to roll.

9/28/07

The Southwestern women, fresh off their third place finish at the OCC Classic, continued to show strong performances as they captured the team title at the Foothill Invite today. Placing five women in the top 8, SW was able to hold off second place finisher El Camino, despite a fine performance by EC's Courtney Stephens who took the individual title honors.

On the men's side, the San Bernardino men were every bit as dominant as they were last week, placing 4 men in the top five. El Camino placed 2nd overall with, Oxnard rounding out the top three. Oxnard's Miguel Cisneros was the individual winner on the fast course at Legg Lake in Whittier.

Bakersfield Invitational

9/28/07

Tove Berg leads Glendale to another victory while Saddleback captures the men's title.

Tove Berg, won yet another invitational as the Glendale women continue to steamroll across the Southland. Berg won the race by nearly 40 seconds over second place finisher, Shauna Rountree of Bakersfield. In all, Glendale put seven runner in the top ten for the easy victory.

On the men's side, Saddleback placed 4 runners in the top eight to capture the title. Andrew Salg, of LA Valley, was the individual winner.

Golden West Invitational

American River College and Mt. SAC Runaway with Team Titles 9/22/07

Just down the road from the Orange Coast Classic the weather was not much better at the Golden West Invitational leaving the course around 400 meters short due to muddy running surfaces.

The Mt. SAC Women dominated the field with a score of 49, second place was El Camino (89 points) and third place was American River College (113). Freshman Christina Cortez of Mt. SAC captured the individual title with a time of 18:08. Close behind in second was Caitlin Roake of San Mateo with a time of 18:10 and third with a time of 18:11 was Samantha Espindola of San Diego Mesa.

On the men's side, American River cruised to a easy victory with a score of 34 points. Led by a one two finish by sophomores Nelson Mwangi (19:28) and Guss Gibbs (19:37), the Beavers crushed second place team Mt. SAC who ran without 3 of their top 7 runners. El Camino took third with the same score as Mt. SAC, but was awarded third after breaking the tie. Freshman Steven Calise let El Camino with a individual third place finishi with a time of 19:46.

Orange Coast Classic

A soggy day at Fairview Park does not dampen spirits or performances.

9/22/07

Thunderstorms pounded the southland which left the course at Fairview Park in Costa Mesa in a muddy state as nearly a dozen colleges toed the line for the Orange Coast Classic.

The women's race featured four of the top seven teams in Southern California, including top ranked Orange Coast College, fourth ranked Southwestern and fifth ranked Cerritos. OCC, once again, left no doubt to who was the number one team. Led by individual winner Crystal Reed, OCC, placed three runners in the top four, which led to a impressive win. The dual for second place was much tighter. Southwestern and Cerritos athletes battled it out in a very close contest that had both team placing three runners in the top 20. When the point tally was totaled, the teams had tied. However, Cerritos was awarded second placed based on their 6th place finisher.

On the men's side, San Bernardino Valley made their first appearance at a major So Cal meet and the defending state champions left no doubt who was the best team of the day as they placed four runners in the top six against a field that featured four ranked teams.

Behind individual winner, Carlos Perez, SBVC had it's top five finishers in the top ten. Antelope Valley also had a strong performance, placing 2nd overall with three runners in the top 15.

Cuesta Invitational

College of the Canyons men continues it's unbeaten streak, while Glendale's women continue to roll.

9/21/07

It seems as if College of the Canyons men's team is making it habit of coming away with first place trophies every week, and this past Friday was no different. In another powerful performance, College of the Canyons scored another victory at the Cuesta Invite which also served as the Western States Preview Meet. Alfredo Coronado scored another convincing victory, holding off Oxnard's Miguel Cisneros.

Tove Berg continued her dominance easily winning the women's events while leading Glendale to a 63 point victory over nearest rival Bakersfield. Glendale placed a total of 6 runners in the top ten.

Fresno Invitational

Orange Coast women win in impressive fashion while College of the Canyons' men win a nail biter. 9/15/07

In a race that had nearly 30 schools represented, the Orange Coast women showed that they have earned their number one ranking by defeating a solid field that included five top ten teams. The Pirates had 4 runners in the top ten, led by individual winner Crystal Reed, which gave them a 60 point victory over 2nd place team Mt. SAC. Southwestern and Cerritos rounded out the top 4.

College of the Canyons made it three for three. Led by outstanding runner and individual winner, Alfredo Coronado, COC had three runners in the top 8. However, they received a strong challenge from Mt. SAC who finished only two points back and featured three runners in the top 16. Also not far behind was American River. The northern power only was only 9 points back of COC.

Palomar Invitational

Palomar women win their own invite while Cuyamaca holds off Santa Barbara City for the men's title. 9/14/07

Ericka Hendrickson of Palomar and her teammate Aubriele Rowe went 1-2 in the women's portion of the Palomar Invite this weekend. This coupled with having their top 5 runners finish in the top ten sealed the victory over nearest competitor, Santa Barbara City.

Cuyamaca had just as an impressive showing in the men's race with 5 in the top 12. This was enough to hold off Santa Barbara City. The men's individual winner was Miguel Albarran of Palomar.

Ventura Invitational

College of the Canyons men impress again, while Glendale's women cruise to another victory. 9/8/07

College of the Canyons men's team continues to be the surprise team of the early season as they grabbed their second victory in as many weeks. By placing three men in the top ten, including individual winner, Alfredo Coronado, COC was able to hold off a solid effort by Mt. SAC. The Mounties, behind the efforts of outstanding freshmen, Luis Medina, also finished with three in top ten for a 2nd place team finish.

On the women's side, Tove Berg looked unstoppable again as she went onto a another easy victory. Glendale placed 6 women in the top ten for a decisive win. The Mt. SAC women placed 2nd with El Camino making a solid season debut in the third place position.

Riverside Takes Men's OEC Preview Meet, While OCC Women Have Dominant Performance. 9/7/07

The Riverside men's team showed today that they will be a force to deal with at the Orange Empire Conference Preview Meet. While Orange Coast's Brandon Babiracki won the race held at Craig Park in a time of 20:33, Riverside's Steven Krueger and Ian Iverson managed to place in the top 6, giving them a 7 point victory over team runner-up, Santa Ana with OCC placing third just 5 points back of second place. By seasons end, this should be one of the most hotly contested conference championships in the So Cal region.

On the women's side, OCC continued it's reign at the top of the Orange Empire Conference. Led by star athlete, Crystal Reed, OCC placed 5 runners in the top 6 for an easy win.

News from up North

Diablo Valley takes the women's crown, while American River wins the men's title at the Beaver Invite.

9/8/07

Like the South, the North is now in the full swing of the season. Diablo Valley's Asma Mohammadi, led her team to victory, with a time of 20:04, which was good enough for a 2nd place individual finish behind San Mateo's Caitlin Roake.

The men's competition was dominated by host school, American River. With Nelson Mwangi leading the way, the Beavers placed 3 runners in the top 6 for a decisive victory over team runner up, Fresno. West Valley's Angel Gonzalez, won the individual title in a time of 20:45.

Hot Day at Moorpark Inv.

College of the Canyons and Antelope Valley on the men's side have strong showings, while Glendale dominates the women's divisions.

Oxnard standout, Miguel Cisneros, ran to a decisive victory at the Moorpark Invitational this past Saturday with a time of 15:36 on the 5k course. However, it was College of the Canyons and Antelope Valley who were the team contenders.

College of the Canyons Alfredo Coronado was 2nd overall followed closely by AVC's Irvin Garcia that rounded out the top three finishers. COC had a total of three runners in the top 7 and their first 5 finished in the top 16 to give them the victory. AVC had 3 in the top 12 to give them a solid second place.

On the women's side, Glendale's Tove Berg picked up right where she left off with an easy win in a fantastic time of 18:12. Glendale also grabbed the second individual finishing spot with Sophomore Vivien Wadeck running a fine 19:40.

In the team competition, Glendale's 1-2 punch was more than any other team could overcome as they won the meet with a total of six of their runners placing in the top 10. LA Trade Tech placed 2nd behind top returner, Carolina Garcia's third place finish.

Fullerton Inv. Features Mixed Bag

Five CCC teams duke it out at Carbon Canyon with OCC and Cerritos going 1-2 in the women, while Mt. SAC is victorious in the men.

In a day that featured a new three race format, the Community College races proved to be very interesting. The first women's race featured a community college dominated event. OCC, showing that they did not miss a beat, picked up where they left off last year, as their outstanding freshmen, Crystal Reed, was the first CCC finisher. She was followed by their second finisher, Cassie Mitchell. Yet, OCC did not go unchallenged.

The Cerritos College women, led by outstanding freshmen, Shannon Simpson, were able to pack very well and place their 5th runner ahead of OCC's and the Mt. SAC women also had a nice grouping finishing a mere 6 points back of Cerritos. Yet, neither teams efforts were enough, as OCC went on to the victory.

In the men's division, which only featured one race, Cerritos' Daniel Clifford-Sorenson was the first CCC finisher, he was followed by Long Beach City's Alberto Esponoza. Yet, the team that shined, was winner, Mt. SAC. Featuring a very large contingent, the Mt. SAC men grouped very well going onto a solid victory behind the fine efforts of sophomore Juan Jacinto. Cerritos placed 2nd overall followed by Long Beach City.

A Sizzler in Moreno Valley

Eight teams brave 100 plus temperatures at Riverside Short-Course Invite

"Be conservative" was the catch phrase of the day as 8 teams ventured to Riverside County's Moreno Valley, to brave Sahara Desert-like conditions. With the temperature at a blazing 104 degrees at race time, to do anything but be conservative would have been foolish.

Riverside's men' team proved to be the team that handled these conditions the best as they placed 7 runners in the top ten claiming first place. They were followed by Fullerton and Santiago Canyon.

The individual winner, however, was Santiago Canyon athlete David Ferreira, who clocked a 17:49 in the extremely challenging conditions.