Canyons Cross Country Starts Strong at Oxnard Invite
COC runs to a second place finish on the women’s side, before the men’s squad raced to a fourth place result.
The College of the Canyons cross country program got its season underway Friday, with COC head coach Lindie Kane taking her teams to compete at the annual Oxnard College Cross Country Invitational.
The event attracted a strong field of teams from across the state, with 11 men's programs and 10 women's programs combining for more than 180 race entries.
As has been tradition in recent years, COC got its season off to a strong start with a second place finish by the women's team, before the men's squad raced to a fourth place result.
COC freshman Stephanie Martinez was the top overall finisher for the Cougars, as her third place time of 18:45.8 helped set the pace. Martinez was one of five COC runners to place in the top-20 of the women's 5K race.
Sophomore Jessica Ruiz, a 2015 JC All-American and an All-Western State Conference honoree, finished in sixth place at the event with a time of 19:01.7. Freshman Celine Whitman posted the next best time with a mark of 20:05.9 to take 17th place.
Díani Ellis (20:08.2) and Taylor Hernandez (20:26.2) finished 18th and 20th, respectively, to round out the Cougars' top-five.
The team's 54 points trailed only Glendale College (30), with Cuesta College (105) finishing a distant third.
COC sophomore Jake Higdon was the top runner for the men's team, as his eighth place time of 21:33.3 on the four-mile course helped the Cougars stay with the lead pack.
Freshman Christopher Ochoa turned in a strong performance with a time of 22:12.3 to take 15th place. Freshman Sean Grey-Tunkl posted a time of 22:48.3 to finish in 30th place.
Rounding out the top five were Garrett Noltemeyer (37th) at 22:59.3 and Joshua Tan (41st) at 23:11.6
COC (124) trailed third place Moorpark College (114), second place Hartnell College (57) and event champion Glendale College (16).
Canyons will next compete at the The Mark Covert Classic hosted by CSU, Fullerton at 8:15 a.m. on Saturday, Sept. 3
—Jesse Munoz/COC Sports Information
Photo Credit: Mike Whitman/COC Sports Information
