The VC women's cross country team continued their renaissance season with a powerful runner-up finish at the Southern California Regional Championships Friday in Santa Clarita. Marissa Gonzales placed fourth to lead the way for the Pirates as VC placed five runners in the Top-41. Meanwhile, the Pirate men shaved two minutes off their combined time from the same course in September, advancing to the State Championships with a 10th place team finish. Adan Cruz led Ventura in 27th place overall.
Both teams advance to the CCCAA State Championships to be held Saturday Nov. 18 in Fresno's Woodward Park. It is the men's second straight trip to the final meet of the year while the women will be competing at state for the sixth time in the past seven seasons.
Gonzales placed fourth pout of 187 participating runners, running the 5k course at Santa Clarita's Central Park in 19:22. Fabiola Flores Gomez finished in 15th place (19:54) with Tatiana Garcia (16th, 20:00), Macy Schmidt (20th, 20:05), Katelynn Byrum (41st, 20:44, 39 team points), Ashley Valdavinos (76th, 21:40, 71), and Cecilia Cano (115th, 23:07, 101) rounded out the Pirate runners.
Mt. San Antonio won the team competition with 74 points, followed by Ventura with 94 points and Los Angeles Harbor at 104. Western State Conference foes Glendale (4th), Canyons (6th), Oxnard (10th) and Moorpark (14th) all qualified for the state meet.
"The result of today's meet showed the level of competitiveness this team was ready for," said women's head coach Melody Axtell. "They have been preparing for this month of competition and I am proud of what they accomplished today. We are excited for state and proud that the WSC will be represented by five teams."
The Pirate men also had a great day on the course, shaving a combined two minutes off their team time from the SoCal Preview in September. Cruz was the top finished for VC for the sixth time this season coming in 27th place overall out of 196 finishers, covering the 4-mile course in 22:04. The remaining six placers included Jacob Hernandez (29th, 22.06), Alex Ambriz (72nd, 22.43), Evan Pederson (78th. 22:50, 77), Juan Martinez (113th, 23:31, 109), Ernie Nombrano (120th, 23:38, 116), and Dan Thow (129th, 23:51, 124).
Mt. San Antonio won the men's team competition with 34 points, followed by Riverside (80), LA Harbor (128), San Bernardino Valley (160), Glendale (180), El Camino (205), Cerritos (227), Cuyamaca (286), Santa Ana (296), and the Pirates (314). Santa Monica (12th) and Bakersfield (14th) also qualified for state from the WSC.
"We just have one more hurdle to clear in two weeks," commented head men's coach Tony Veney. "We shaved just under two minutes from our team time here in September and we slid two spots, which is a testament to the depth and quality of the southern region in this sport.
"We have a few days to recover and get back to business as we prepare for (state)."
The CCCAA State Championships will be held Saturday Nov. 18 in Fresno's Woodward Park. The women's race is scheduled for 10:00 am while the men start at 11:00 am.