For the third straight year under coach Martin Maciel, the Pirates' men's and women's cross country teams have qualified for the 3C2A State Championships. Both teams placed 13th in a crowded Southern California regional field Friday in Long Beach to move forward to the final meet of the year. Sophia Godina ran in second place out of 158 runners to lead the women and Brianna Torres was 16th. Erick Tienda and Adrian Valdez were 14th and 25th of 189 competitors, respectively, for the Ventura men.
As she has done all season, Godina (Rio Mesa) ran a superb race finishing in the runner-up spot. She covered the 5k course in 17:47, just three seconds behind the winner. Meanwhile, Torres (Oxnard) was fast, as well, crossing the finish line in 18:49, just six seconds off a Top-10 finish. Yesenia Molina (Oxnard) came in 84th place in 21:49 for 74 team points and Addy Cornell (Newbury Park Adventist) was 99th in 22:44 for 87 points. Allison Campbell ((30:41, 155th, 140 points) rounded out the Pirtaes' field.
VC totaled 307 team points for their 13th place finish, qualifying for the state championships. San Diego Mesa finished first with 68 points followed by Mt. San Antonio (91) and Riverside (134). Allan Hancock was the top Western State Conference team in fourth with 176 points.
Tienda (Rio Mesa) led the Pirate men with a time of 20:08 over the 4-mile trek. Valdez (Oxnard) ran a 20:26 and Ignacio Castro(Rio Mesa) was 74th for 72 team points in 21:54. Colin Crisostomo (Buena) finished in 91st for 89 points with a mark of 22:12 and was followed by Ivan Aleman (Rio Mesa) in 98th (22:26, 96 points). The final Pirate runners were Kevin Ramirez (Rio Messa) (113th, 22:54, 108 points) and Carlos Oregel (Oxnard) (23:08, 122nd, 117 points).
Ventura earned 296 points to finish in 13th place, also qualifying for the final meet of the season. Mt. San Antonio ran first with 40 points and San Diego Mesa was second with 43. Bakersfield was the top WSC school in third place with 99 points.
The 3C2A State Championships will be held on Saturday Nov. 18 at Fresno's Woodward Park.