Sophomore Erika Schaeffer placed 17th for SBCC in the Southern Cal Championships on Saturday at Mission Park in San Diego and earned a spot in the State Cross Country Championships.
Schaeffer ran 19:51 in the 5K race that featured 194 runners. She shaved 20 seconds off her time from the Southern Cal Preview meet on the same course on Oct. 9.
Freshman Sarah O’Connor, who missed training last week due to illness, took 97th in 21:49 to join Schaeffer in the State Meet on Nov. 20 in Fresno.
Southwestern won the women’s title and Danielle Low of L.A. Trade Tech was the individual winner in 18:27. SBCC didn’t have a team score because only four runners finished.
“Neither Erika nor Sarah felt particularly strong but they went out and grinded it out and did what they had to do to move on to the state,” said coach Scott Fickerson. “Sofia (Danielson, 22:59) ran great, improving about a minute from her time here a month ago and Laura (Aviles, 26:18) is a real scrapper and deserves big kudos for running tough on a badly sprained ankle.”
SBCC’s Garrett Edwards qualified for state after finishing 49th in a men’s field of 207 with a time of 22:05. Luis Garnica was 121st in 23:16, 33 seconds faster than last month.
“Garrett struggled a bit this week as he’s fighting a cold and had a busy week of classes,” Fickerson noted. “We focused on just getting a qualifying spot to state, so he has two weeks to rest up and get in a great last race.”
Southern Cal Championships
At Mission Park (San Diego)Women — 1, Southwestern 22. 2, Glendale 68. 3, L.A. Trade Tech 73.
Individual (5K) — 1, Danielle Low, Trade Tech, 18:27. SBCC results — 17, Erika Schaeffer, 19:51. 97, Sarah O’Connor 21:49. 136, Sofia Danielson 22:59. 189, Laura Aviles 26:18.
Men — 1, San Bernardino Valley 61. 2, Orange Coast 124. 3, El Camino 137.
Individual (4 miles) — 1, David Cardona, El Camino, 20:22. SBCC finishers — 49, Garrett Edwards 22:05. 121, Luis Garnica 23:16. 170, Marcial Ordaz 24:06.
