Glendale, Canyons 1-2 in women's race, Mt. SAC tops in men's at CCCAA SoCal Preview
SANTA CLARITA, Calif. - College of the Canyons hosted the 2017 California Community College Athletic Association (CCCAA) Southern California Preview on Friday, attracting a field of more than 500 runners to the course at Central Park in Santa Clarita,
The Canyons women's team ran to a second place finish (90 points) narrowly missing the top spot which went to conference rival Glendale College (84). Mt. San Antonio (96) came in third followed by Ventura (124) and Riverside (135). On the men's side, Canyons came away with a 17th place finish in the field of 24 teams, and 305 individual runners. Mt. San Antonio (42) took first place, followed by Glendale (68), Riverside (84) and San Bernardino Valley College (96). Cerritos College finished in the fifth spot at 164.
Individual winners were Angelica Salas (Glendale) for the women in 18:50.6, and Raymond Lopez (Glendale) in 21:00.2 for the women.
COC sophomore Díani Ellis had another stellar day, running to a second place time of 18:58.32 in the field of 210 women runners.
That time placed Ellis just a few ticks behind Angelica Salas who won the meet at a pace of 18:50.60 on the 5K course. Sarah Hollis of Riverside City College was third overall at 18:58.51.
Sophomore Stephanie Martinez also had a strong run, taking seventh place with a time of 19:53.98.
The rest of the Cougar contingent was not far behind, with Celine Whitman (27th/20:54.43), Guadalupe Ruiz(29th/21:02.10) and Sophia Stephan (37th/21:14.96) all scoring for Canyons.
Canyons had entered the race as the No. 2 ranked team in Southern California — and No. 3 team in the state — according to the most recent poll, and held true to that placement with its performance on Friday.
Sophomore Garrett Noltemeyer (40th/22:32.98) was the top runner for Canyons men's team, with Travis Cetti next to cross the finish line (88th/23:08.26).
Cody Roelofson (121st/23:36.14), Cristian Cucuta (187th/24:45.92) and Dimas Murguia (228th/25:45.82) each scored for the Cougars.
COC will next compete at the annual Golden West College Invitational on Friday, Sept. 22, in Huntington Beach.
Later this season, Canyons will also host the 2017 CCCAA Southern California Championships on Nov. 3, at Central Park.
(Courtesy Jesse Munoz, College of the Canyons Sports Information)