The VC men's and women's cross country teams ran at the Southern California Preview meet Friday in Bakersfield. The Pirate men finished eight of the 25 participating teams led by Adrian Valdez who finished11th of the 247 runners. The Ventura women had four competitors, led by Sophia Godina who crossed the finish line fourth of the 138 runners, and she was also the top-performing freshman in the field.
Valdez (Oxnard) covered the 4-mile course at Kern County Soccer Park in 21:08.4, followed by Erick Tienda (Rio Mesa) 10 places back in 21:22.1. Other Pirate scorers included Ramiro Mateos (Oxnard) (75th, 22:46.7), Zach Lopez (Ventura) (116th, 23:48.3), and Bryan Guzman (Oxnard) (133rd, 24.04.5). Roman Bell (138th, 24:09.4) and Oliver Tavira (158th, 24:37.1).
VC's men's team totaled 271 points overall, good for eighth place in the crowded field. Mt. San Antonio (61 points), Bakersfield (71) and Riverside (74) finished in the top-three spots, all under 100 points, followed by Glendale (127), Moorpark (154), Saddleback (173) and Orange Coast (188). Ventura finished just ahead of San Bernardino Valley (278).
Godina (Rio Mesa) established herself as one of the top runners in the state with her fourth place finish. She ran the 5k trek in 12:12.1 to become the fastest first-year athlete in the field. Brenda Garcia (Buena) was 22nd overall in 20:22.5 followed by Addy Cornell (Newbury Park Adventist) (67th, 23:03.8) and Alexa Hernandez (Oxnard) (106th, 25:17.0).
Ventura did not qualify for the team competition which was won by Mt. San Antonio who had five runners in the top-13. Bakersfield was second and El Camino finished third.
The Pirate cross country teams next compete Friday Sept. 30 at the Western State Conference Preview hosted by Los Angeles Mission College.