Canyons Cross Country Teams Qualify for SoCal Championships
Women's team placed second and the men’s team was seventh at WSC Finals with both squads moving on to compete at CCCAA SoCal Championships on Nov. 3.
BAKERSFIELD, Calif. — The College of the Canyons men's and women's cross country teams have both qualified to compete at next month's California Community College Athletic Association (CCCAA) Southern California Championships after a strong run at the Western State Conference (WSC) Finals on Friday.
The women's team placed second in the field of 12 teams, while the men's team was seventh. The event was held at the Kern County Soccer Park and hosted by Bakersfield College.
Highlighting the day for Canyons was the fourth place overall time of 18:34.45 turned in by sophomore Díani Ellis.
Sophomore Stephanie Martinez was not far behind at 19:05.21 to place sixth overall. Freshman Guadalupe Ruiz finished at a time of 19:47.27 to place 13th overall in the field of 89 runners that took part in the women's 5K event.
Sophia Stephan was 25th with a time of 20:17.97 and Celine Whitman was 27th at 20:35.65.
Those scores combined to give the Cougars 70 event points, which trailed only event champion Glendale College (44). Ventura College (83) finished in third.
Canyons recorded a total time of 1:38:20.55 at an average of 19:40.11 per runner.
COC runners Kianna Schlesinger (51st/22:48.90) and Kaitlyn Gomez (52nd/22:58.52) both competed but had their times dropped.
Sophomore Garrett Noltemeyer claimed COC's top finish on the men's side, placing 11th in the field of 101 with a time of 21:12.63 on the four-mile course.
Freshman Travis Cetti was 20th overall at a time of 21:27 and Cody Roelofson was 24th at 21:33.
Cristian Cucuta (62nd/23:33.07) and Dimas Murguia (74th/24:18) rounded out the Cougars scoring.
Canyons had a total time of 1:52:03.70, with an average of 22:24.74 per runner.
Glendale won the event with 42 event points, followed by Ventura (86) and Santa Monica (112).
The Cougars will now prepare to host the SoCal Championships meet, being held Friday, Nov. 3, at Central Park in Santa Clarita. The women's race will begin at 10 a.m. followed by the men's event at 11 a.m.
The CCCAA State Championship event will be held Saturday, Nov. 18, at Woodward Park in Fresno.
Stay up to date on all this season's action by following the College of the Canyons Athletic department on social media at @COCathletics on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and YouTube.
— Jesse Muñoz/COC Sports Information
—Photo credit: Mike Whitman/COC Sports Information
