Colijn takes 9th for Vaquero women

SAN LUIS OBISPO — Paige Colijn was the top finisher for SBCC in the Cuesta Invitational on Saturday, taking ninth place in cross country race. She ran 21:13 in the women’s 5K, which was won by Katie Dunn of Glendale in 18:47.

 The Vaquero women, who didn’t field a full team in their first race at Ventura, placed fifth out of six teams with 115 points. Glendale won with 25 points. SBCC’s Ivana Sanchez was 25th in 23:53, Sarah Gustafsson placed 32nd (24:55) and Cassidy Daum was 33rd (25:18).

“They raced smart and moved forward steadily,” said SBCC coach Scott Fickerson. “It was a very hilly course and we ran the hills well.”

In the 4-mile men’s race, the Vaqueros placed fourth out of seven teams with 134 points. Sequoias won the team title with 31 points, led by first-place finisher David Sanchez (21:59).

Chris Costanzo was the first SBCC runner across the finish line, taking 25th in 24:35. Conner Mellon was 29th in 25:27, Wesley Corpula was 31st in 25:33 and Matt Little placed 33rd in 25:50.

“We started conservatively due to the hilly course, maybe too much so,” said Fickerson. “We ran well as a pack and finished strongly.”

The Vaquero runners return to action on Oct. 3 at the Bakersfield Invitational.