By Jesse Muñoz/COC Sports Information Director

College of the Canyons competed at the California Community College Athletic Association (CCCAA) Southern California Preview on Friday, providing the Cougars with an early look at the regional competition that will be vying for a trip to the state championship meet later this fall.

"The main focus will be getting on this course, looking at the layout, and then basing our training (for the rest of the season) on what we'll need to do to qualify for state the championships," said COC head coach Lindie Kane leading into the event.

And that's exactly what the Cougars did.

COC's women's team placed 14th in the field of 21 teams, despite competing without No. 3 runner Takaira Beard.

Canyons sophomore Amanda Finn paced the Cougars with a time of 20:27.2 on the 3.1-mile course at Don Knabe Community Regional Park in Cerritos. She placed 38th overall in the field of 191 entries.

COC sophomore Samantha Bell was 48th overall with a time of 20:50.9.

Celeste Gonzalez (22:12/92nd), Graciela Torres (22:30.9/102nd) and Abigail Ornelas (27:38.3/174th) all scored for the Cougars.

Glendale College (77) won the event, followed by Saddleback College (82) and Ventura College (145).

Canyons ranked fourth overall among teams representing the Western State Conference (WSC).

COC's men's team did not enter the event, but instead had four individuals compete among the field of 313 runners on the four-mile course.

Sebastian Holding (21:54.8/96th), Hunter Covarrubias (22:47.8/154th), Jacob Acosta (22:51.1/159th) and Donmiguel White-Carrington (24:02/214th) all ran for Canyons.

San Diego Mesa College and El Camino College tied for the event lead at 90 points. Glendale (104) placed third in the team standings.

The Cougars will be back on the course at the Bakersfield College Invitational on Friday, Sept. 21. First race is scheduled for 1 p.m.

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. 

—Photo by Lindie Kane/COC Sports Information