Cruz Parada, Silva Take NorCal 5CTCA Honors; Cerritos Pair Lead SoCal

NorCal Runners of the Week recognitions go to Lina Cruz Parada of the College of San Mateo and Evan Silva of Clovis Community College for their outstanding performances at the MJC Invitational last Friday.

 

Cruz Parada returns for her final season for the Bulldogs and showed she is one of the top individuals in the region after challenging previous ROTW Cameron Macias of Clovis in Modesto. Cruz Parada was a close second overall in 18:41, one of only two women to break 19 on the Tuolumne Regional Park 5k course. An All-State performance as a freshman will looked to be approved upon come November in her final race for CSM.

 

Silva is a rising star for The Crush as he won his first Community College race on Friday by 22 seconds over previous ROTW and fellow teammate Davis Bosc. Silva was also third overall at the regional preview meet and boasts a fine 20:51 in his first performance at Woodward Park.

 

Cerritos College runners swept SoCal Runners of the Week honors with outstanding performances at the Bakersfield College Invitational at Kern River Soccer Park last Friday.

 

The Falcons reloaded with a fine freshman in Damian Nava. He came within four seconds of the overall victory in Bakersfield chasing previous ROTW Sam Chavarria of SBVC for the four mile distance. Nava also bested previous ROTW Jacob Quezada in the process. Nava was also third at the Golden West Invitational and 20:57 in his Woodward Park debut.

 

Sophomore Esther Gonzalez demonstrated her improvement by taking the overall victory in Bakersfield lowering her course best by 58 seconds from the previous year. Gonzalez was 60th at last year's state meet but appears to be ready to lead the Falcons this November with a much higher finish. She was also fourth at Golden West and produced a solid 19:30 at Woodward Park at The Crush Invitational.