Cecilia Instebo finished second in the State Cross Country Championships on a rainy Saturday in Fresno and SBCC teammate Nicole Bartlett took 13th, leading the Vaqueros to seventh place in the 28-team women’s competition.
Instebo covered the 5K course at Woodward Park in a season-best 18:14. She was the runner-up for the sixth straight meet and finally beat her nemesis, Grace Graham-Zamudio of Glendale who finished sixth out of 207 runners.
Katie Castro of De Anza was the winner in 17:45. Orange Coast claimed the team title with 79 points, beating out Glendale (100) and Moorpark (136). SBCC was seventh at 221, its highest finish in decades.
Instebo, a sophomore from Sweden, and Bartlett, a freshman from Shorelline, Wash., who ran 18:54, both earned All-American honors. Emily Bernath was 25th in 19:11.
“The top three were amazing and everyone ran great,” said coach Scott Fickerson. “Cecilia improved her best time by 13 seconds and Nicole and Emily ran 1 to 1½ minutes faster. We took two minutes off our best team time.
“It was a great day for us, one of the best finishes in school history.”
SBCC’s men placed 18th in a field of 28 teams. Omar Padilla-Lopez was 41st in a season-best 21:18 and Ian Roberts took 61st in 21:31 in a field of 204 runners..
Matt Airola of American River won the 4-mile men’s race in 20:11.
American River was the men’s team champion with 84 points. Glendale was second with 96..
“The men put themselves in position to be in the top 10,” said Fickerson. “We went out aggressively and bit off a bit more than we could chew. I‘d much rather they went after it like that, rather than just sit back in the pack.
“It was a fantastic season for the women and men, easily the best in my five years as coach.”
State Championships
Women
Team (28 schools) — 1, Orange Coast 79. 2, Glendale 100. 3, Moorpark 136. 7, SBCC 221.
Individual (5K) — 1, Katie Castro, De Anza, 17:45. 2, Cecilia Instebo, SBCC, 18:14. Other SBCC results — 13, Nicole Bartlett 18:54. 25, Emily Bernath 19:11, 98, Nicole Mozilo 20:38. 116, Sara Smith 20:54. 120, Dean Roell 20:59. 135, Mia Owns 21:19.
Men
Team (28 schools) — 1, American River 84. 2, Glendale 96. 3, Orange Coast 158. 18, SBCC 490.
Individual (4 miles) — 1, Matt Airola, American River, 20:11. SBCC results — 41, Omar Padilla-Lopez 21:18. 61, Ian Roberts 21:31. 128, Marcial Ordaz 22:15. 129, Nery Gonzalez 22:15. 179, Andy Hernandez 23:15. 180, Jamison Leighton 23:26.
