Cross Country Teams Both Take Home 1st Place at Ventura College Invitational

VENTURA, Calif. — The College of the Canyons men's and women's cross country teams each started their season in winning fashion at the annual Ventura College Invitational at Arroyo Verde Park on Friday, Aug. 29, with each team winning both the overall team and individual titles.

The women's team had a most impressive day, sweeping the meet's first five spots for a perfect score of 15 points on the 5K course. Freshman Shalyn Mabritto led the charge with a time of 21:15.6 to finish in first place just ahead of sophomore, and returning JC All-American, Dominique Dowell's time of 21:19.4. Freshman Amanda De Jesus finished in third with a time of 21:34.8 and Alexandra Whitman crossed the finish line moments later with a time of 21:39.1. Lizeth Flores finished with a time of 22:02.2 to complete the Cougars' one through five sweep! Those times placed Canyons far ahead of second place Mt. SAC (65 pts) and third place Bakersfield College (73 pts).

On the men's side, sophomore Rodrigo Ornelas led the way, taking home the top individual spot with time of 21:09.3 on the four-mile course. Fellow sophomore Grant Stromberg finished in second with a time of 22:09.1. Just a few ticks off the pace were freshman Ashton Garcia whose time of 22:22 ranked him in fourth place. Canyons' score of 23 points placed the team ahead of second place Mt. SAC (62 pts) and third place Cuesta College (131 pts).

"This was a great day for Cougar cross country," said COC cross country head coach Lindie Kane.

College of the Canyons will return to action on Saturday, Sept. 6 as they travel to the Fresno Invite.