Cecilia Instebo placed second for the second straight meet on Friday at the WSC Cross Country Preview, leading SBCC’s women to a third-place finish at Kenneth Hahn Park in Los Angeles.
Instebo, a sophomore from Stockholm, Sweden, was clocked in 19:54. Emily Bernath was ninth in 20:50 and Nicole Bartlett placed 13th in 21:31. Glendale’s Grace Zamudio remained unbeaten this year, winning the 5K race in 19:29.
Glendale and Moorpark, both ranked in the top three in the state, took the top two spots with 35 and 47 points. SBCC was third with 75.
“We ran a well-executed race,” said coach Scott Fickerson. “We were aggressive in the first mile, the next mile was downhill and then we ran very strong on a long 600-meter hill.
“This race counts 25 percent toward the WSC Championship and both our teams are in good position to be top three in the conference.”
In the men’s 4-mile race, SBCC freshman Ian Roberts led the Vaqueros for the third straight meet with a 10th-place effort in 22:15. Omar Padilla was 14th in 22:31. Gordon Sturgess of Cuesta won the race in 21:20.
Glendale (20) finished well ahead of Valley (83) and Cuesta (85). SBCC was fourth at 104.
“We got out a little conservatively, then ran strong in the middle miles,” stated Fickerson.
The Vaqueros will host the SBCC Invitational on Friday at Leadbetter Beach and Shoreline Park with the women’s race at 3 p.m. and the men at 4 p.m.
WSC Preview
Women (5K)
Team — 1, Glendale 35. 2, Moorpark 47. 3, SBCC 75. 4, Ventura 109. 5, Bakersfield 161.
Individual — 1, Grace Zamudio, G, 19:29. 2, Cecilia Instebo, SBCC, 19:54. 9, Emily Bernath, SBCC, 20:50. Other SBCC results — 13, Nicole Bartlett 21:31. 26, Dean Roell 22:30. 27, Nicole Mozillo 22:50. 37, Mia Owens 23:32. 61, Sarah Gonzalez 24:47.
Men (4 miles)Team — 1, Glendale 20. 2, L.A. Valley 83. 3, Cuesta 85. 4, SBCC 104. 5, Santa Monica 111.
Individual — 1, Gordon Sturgess, Cuesta, 21:20. SBCC results — 10, Ian Roberts 22:15. 14, Omar Padilla 22:31. 28, Marcial Ordaz 23:40. 39, Jamison Leighton 24:29. 40, Nery Gonzalez 24:30. 66, Andy Hernandez 26:08. 81, Kenny Drake 28:37.
