Canyons Runners Shine at SoCal Preview
COC Sophomore Runner Rodrigo Ornelas Wins the Men’s Individual Title
September 20, 2014
The College of the Canyons men's and women's cross country teams each participated in the 2014 Southern California Preview, held Friday, Sept. 19 at Woodley Park in Van Nuys, with both teams taking the second place spot. In addition, COC sophomore runner Rodrigo Ornelas won the men's individual title.
Ornelas crossed the finish line in first place with a time of 20:11.4 to lead the COC men's team, which finished with a final score of 55 — just two points behind Mt. SAC's mark of 53 points.
American River College (68 points) would finish in third and Orange Coast College (156 points) placed fourth.
Canyons sophomore Grant Stromberg followed in sixth place with a time of 20:29.2 while Ethan Walker rounded out the Cougars' top three spots in the four-mile race with a time of 20:34 to finish in ninth place.
COC freshman Ashton Garcia finished the race in 12th place with a time of 20:41.8 and fellow frosh runner Jason Hillquist ran in 27th place with a time of 20:58.
The COC women's team tallied 68 points in its 5K race, tailing only first place finisher Glendale College's score of 51 points. Mt. SAC (79 points), Cerritos College (105 points) and Riverside College (135 points) rounded out the top five schools.
The Cougars were paced once again by freshman Shalyn Mabritto who finished in fourth place with a time of 18:25.6 and sophomore standout Dominique Dowell, who's sixth place finish came at a time of 18:39.4.
Adding to that effort were ninth place finisher Lexi Whitman (18:58.6), 21st place runner Amanda DeJesus (19:24) and 28th place runner Lizeth Flores.
In the women's second 5K race of the day, Canyons runner Amanda Meredith finished in first place with a time of 20:16. Yesenia Razo would finish second with a time of 20:36, while Ashley Fairbanks crossed with a time of 20:48.
College of the Canyons will next compete at the Golden West College Invite on Friday, Sept. 26.
