Ornelas Leads Cougars To Bakersfield Invite Win, Women Come In Second

BAKERSFIELD, Calif. – Freshman Rodrigo Orenelas captured his first career victory, while freshman Dominique Dowell paced the women with a third-place finish, on Friday afternoon at the Bakersfield Invitational.

The COC men were propelled to first place after five COC runners finished in the top 10 and the women came in second place after three Cougars were top 10 finishers.

The men's team won the five-team race with 27 points. All seven Cougar scorers came in among the top 15 racers. College of the Sequoias came in second place with 33 points and Ventura finished in third with 93 points. Host Bakersfield turned in 95 points, while West Hills College came in fifth with 127 points.

Ornelas led the charge for COC, taking home first place overall, as he posted a time of 20:28 on the 4-mile course. Freshman Robert Pion came in shortly after him in second place and crossed the finish line in 20:40. Freshman Alex Johnson was the third finisher for Canyons, as he posted a time of 21:27, good for sixth place. Sophomore Chase Wheeler had a strong showing with an 8^th-place finish in a time of 21:41 and freshman Lyvan Friend came in 10th, crossing the line in 21:46.

The women notched 52 points, behind Bakersfield College, who came in first place with 44 points. Ventura College turned in a third-place performance with 58 points and College of the Sequoias lost in a tiebreaker, after also turning in 58 points.

The Canyons women fared well, placing second overall. Dowell was the top finisher for the women, as she came in third place overall with a time of 19:44 on the 5k race. Freshman Yesenia Razo nearly broke into the 19-minute mark after finishing the race in 20:07 and coming in fifth place. Freshman Diana Barrera posted a time of 20:32, finishing as third Cougar to cross the line and ninth-place overall.

The Cougars will travel to Ventura on Friday, Oct. 4 as they run in the Western State Conference Preview Meet at 3:30 p.m.