Jordyn Vassaur and Sam Boyle both ran race day personal records as they lead the Ventura College women's and men's cross country teams, respectively, at the Southern California Regional Preview in San Diego's Mission Bay Park Firday. The Pirate women came in 14th place of the 24 teams while the VC men were 17th among the 29 SoCal teams in the event.
Vassaur's time of 20:03 for 5000 meters took 13th overall, out of 174 finishers, and helped the women's team to its solid team finish. She was followed by Amanda Wendt (58th, 21:35), Shannon McDermott (85th, 22:28), Kenna Perez (100th, 23:12), Dhanlay Morales (101st, 23:14) and Sofia Gallardo (174th, 27:44).
Boyle again lead the men's team for the second week as the top finisher placing 17th out of 204 runners, finishing in 21:36 for four miles. Christian Gil (91st, 23:05), David Torres (109th, 23:22 and did not show in the original results), Francisco Erazo (23:40, 120th), Jose Tamayo (142nd, 24:20), and Frank Chavez (145th, 24:25) rounded out the men's top six.
When the teams return to the SoCal Championships in November, the top-14 teams will qualify for state, so VC's 14th place finish with the women has them on solid ground heading to the middle of the season. The Pirate men's 17th place finish among SoCal teams is on the outside looking in, but puts them close to automatic qualifying status.
"I was pleased with the way we ran today," commented head coach Tony Veney. "The young people showed a stronger resolve than two weeks ago and that's an indication of better training and a better mental approach to the competition."
The Pirates next travel north for the Bakersfield Invitation at the City Soccer Park on Friday Sept. 25. The women's 5k goes at 3:30, while the men's 4-mile is scheduled for 4:15pm.