Canyons Cross Country Returns Home as Champions — Again!
COC men's and women's teams take top spot for second week in a row
FRESNO, Calif. — Once again, the College of the Canyons cross country teams return home as champions, having won both the men's and women's team title at the Fresno Invitational at Woodward Park.
The men's team outpaced the field with a score of 64 points, led by sophomore Rodrigo Ornelas who posted a time of 20:33 to finish in second place. Grant Stromberg was the next Cougar to complete the four-mile course with a 10th place time of 21:08.3. COC runners Ashton Garcia (21:10.3), Ethan Walker (21:12.3) and Joseph Rosales (21:46) respectively placed 11th, 12th and 29th among the field of more than 200 runners. Those marks were good enough to beat Mt. SAC (80 points), American River College (108 points) and 14 other teams for the event's top spot.
The women's team also performed well on the 3.10-mile course, tallying 44 points to outpace Glendale College (64 points) and third-place finisher Cerritos College (105) among the field of 17 teams. Sophomore Dominique Dowell turned in a time of 19:07.4 for a fourth place finish, while fellow Cougar runner Shalyn Mabritto followed close behind with a nearly identical time of 19:07.5 to finish in fifth place. COC freshman Amanda De Jesus completed the course in 19:09.3 to take seventh place, while Alexandra Whitman finished in 11th place at 19:25.9 and Lizeth Flores took 17th place with a mark of 19:39.
Canyons will next compete in the Riverside Invite on Saturday, Sept. 13