Hartnell College captures men's title at NorCal Preview Meet
FORTUNA - The Hartnell College men's cross country team is the defending Northern California Champion but with a squad with just two runners who competed in last fall's regional meet, this year's journey to the title will come down to how well and how quickly can the new cast learn to trust and run together. If the Norcal Preview Meet is any indicator, the 2022 squad has a terrific shot at repeating their title. On Saturday in Fortuna, the Panthers bested regional rival and Norcal powerhouse American River College 33 to 39 over a very challenging course at Rohner Park. This is the first time in nearly 20 years that the Northern California Championship is being held in the far north of California. The course at Rohner Park showcases the amazing redwood trees that populate this area of the state along with some challenging trails.
Hartnell and American River were followed by De Anza (84), Modesto (128) and Diablo Valley (158) in the top five.
Leading the way for the Panthers was sophomore Esteban Deniz from King City High school. The fourth-place finisher in 2021, he was third overall just 8 seconds from the win. His fellow South County compatriot Ricky Diaz III very nearly finished fourth but was edged at the line and settled for sixth overall. Freshman Moises Benito ran aggressively early in the race and was the second highest finishing freshman in sixth. Daniel Pantoja from Greenfield, was the Panthers' alternate at the state championship last year but has made the jump into the top 5 for the Panthers. He was seventh overall to give Hartnell four runners inside the top 7. American River fought back their third and fourth runners in tenth and eleventh but sophomore Jose Velazquez, an all-region runner in 2021, sealed the victory with a twelfth place finish. Frosh Jesse Blanco remained consistent placing seventeenth and sophomore Joshua Riley was eighteenth as he looks to make the jump from all-conference to all-region in his final season.
ARC's Cristian Martinez (21:32) and Antoine Moret (21:35) were the top two individual finishers.
The Panthers have won nine team titles since 1984 but still trail American River College which is the most successful men's team in regional history with fourteen team titles. Should the Panthers win in 2022, they will join the Beavers as the only double-digit winning team in regional history. Deniz, Benito and Diaz are all in contention to become Hartnell's second consecutive individual regional winner. Hartnell has the most individual cross country champions in the region. The Northern California Championship will return to Fortuna and Rohner Park on Saturday, Nov. 5.
(Christopher Zepeda, Hartnell College Athletics)