SBCC sophomore Mark Moreno took seventh in the State Cross Country Championships on Saturday morning while SBCC’s women placed 21st at Woodward Park in Fresno.
Moreno, who finished second in the WSC and 16th in the Southern Cal Regional, was clocked in a season-best 20:24 on the 4-mile course. Teammate Matt Organista also ran a season-best 22:28 to place 167th in the field of 219 runners.
“Mark followed our plan exactly, which was to relax with the front-runners at the start,” said coach Scott Fickerson. “At the two-mile mark, he was in about 15th place and started picking off guys 1 by 1.
“Our goal from the start of the season was a top-10 finish. Mission accomplished.”
San Bernardino Valley won its fourth straight men’s title. Hartnell’s Daniel Tapia placed first in 20:05.
The SBCC women’s team finished 21st out of 26 schools with 446 points. The Vaqueros had just five runners all year, instead of the usual seven.
Erika Schaeffer led Santa Barbara, finishing the 5K race in 72nd place with a season-best 20:10. Seanie Rigney was 98th and Alex Thompson 99th, both in 20:34.
Glendale won the race with 43 points and Nina Moore of Glendale was the individual champ in 17:48.
“Our lack of depth finally got to us,” said Fickerson. “The three that were healthy ran great. Seanie had a knee injury the last half of the season and Emelie (Lundin) was sick with the flu the last two weeks.”
State Championships
At Fresno
Men
Team — 1, San Bernardino Valley 67.
Individual (4 miles, 219 runners) — 1, Daniel Tapia, Hartnell, 20:05.
SBCC runners — 7, Mark Moreno 20:24. 167, Matt Organista 22:38.
Women
Team (26 schools) — 1, Glendale 43. 21, SBCC 446.
Individual (5K) — 1, Nina Moore, Glendale, 17:48.
SBCC runners — 72, Erika Schaeffer 20:10. 98, Seanie Rigney 20:34. 99, Alex Thompson 20:34. 109, Sarah Gustavvson 20:45. 169, Emelie Lundin 22:20.
