Stephen Scrafford of SBCC rallied past most of the field in the 5,000 meters on Saturday at Antelope Valley College and took second at the Community College State Track and Field Championships.
Scrafford, a freshman from Cooperstown, N.Y., ran 15:58.72 on an extremely windy day in Lancaster, finishing 2.45 seconds behind David Cardona of El Camino.
“The 30 mph winds were very tricky,” said coach Scott Fickerson. “It was very risky to strike out in front early, but holding back opened the door for someone with a strong kick to sneak in there. Stephen made his move with three laps to go and it almost worked. He managed to drop all but one competitor. Unfortunately it was the runner-up in the 1500m who managed to stay close. Stephen ran his last 200 in 30 flat, but it just wasn’t enough against a miler.
“He had a great season — WSC and Southern California champion, runner-up in State and All-American honors. Those are great accomplishments. I’m really proud of him.”
Scrafford will attend Northern Arizona in the fall and compete on the No. 2 cross country team in the nation.
Ronald Dudley finished ninth in the javelin at 170-10. Cody Allen of Sacramento won with a 206-5 throw.
“Ronnie threw great in very difficult conditions,” Fickerson noted. “With 30 mph cross winds, it was challenging to find the right angle to throw at. He was very consistent at 170, but we couldn’t quite find the point to get out there a bit further.”
Riverside’s men won their third straight title while Laney captured the women’s title.
