Mark Moreno captured the top prize for the SBCC men’s cross country squad and Seanie Rigney led the women to a first-place finish on Friday at the Bakersfield Invitational.
Moreno, a sophomore from Chino, topped a field of 96 runners with a 21:03 clocking on the 4-mile course. He finished 14 seconds ahead of the runner-up.
“It was just a matter of Mark getting healthy,” said coach Scott Fickerson. “At the start of the year, I thought he’d be one of the top runners in the state.”
Garrett Edwards placed 12th for the Vaqueros in 22:19, followed by Fabian Arellano (23rd, 23:11) and Matt Organista (39th, 23:47). Antelope Valley won the race with 60 points and SBCC was fifth at 122.
Rigney was second in the women’s 5K in a time of 19:55 and all five Vaqueros finished in the top 13 for a total of 33 points. Ventura was second with 68.
Erika Shaeffer (20:23) was third, Alexandra Thompson seventh (21:26), Emilie Lundin eighth (21:31) and Sarah Gustavsson 13th (21:58). It was the first win for the women in Fickerson’s two years as coach.
“We started out smart and controlled, then finished the race strong,” he said. “They executed our plan perfectly and all five ran personal bests.”
Bakersfield Invitational
Men
Team (10 schools) — 1, Antelope Valley 60. 5, SBCC 122.
Individual (4 miles, 96 runners) — 1, Mark Moreno, SBCC, 21:03. 2, Ulises Aquino, AVC, 21:17.
Other SBCC runners — 12, Garrett Edwards 22:19. 23, Fabian Arellano 23:11. 39, Matt Organista 23:47. 50, Steven Semler 24:13. 52, Michael Semler 24:21. 87, Dennis Jonsson 28:17.
Women
Team (6 schools) — 1, SBCC 33. 2, Ventura 68. 3, Canyons 98.
Individual (5K, 60 runners) — 1, Tefany Gonzalez, Ventura, 19:34. 2, Seanie Rigby, SBCC, 19:55. 3, Erika Shaeffer, SBCC, 20:23.
Other SBCC runners — 7, Alex Thompson 21:26. 8, Emelie Lundin 21:31. 13, Sarah Gustavsson 21:58.
