SoCal Preview meet gives cross country experience on regional course
RANCHO CUCAMONGA - After being delayed by three weeks, cross country runners from across Southern California descended on Chaffey College for the 2024 Southern California Preview race on Oct. 4.
And the delay just made the competition that much closer.
Twenty-five points separated the top six teams in the women’s race, while only 17 points separated the top five teams in the men’s race on a summer-like morning.
The women kicked things off for their 5K, and the field was left chasing Saddleback’s Danna Ibarra Canales. The sophomore continued her strong start to the season, leading from start-to-finish, crossing the line at 19 minutes, 27.9 seconds. She finished just over five seconds ahead of Allan Hancock’s Itandehui Olea, who edged Victoria Jamison of College of the Canyons by .7 at the line for second place.
Olea’s second-place finish, combined with the sixth-place finish of teammate Eva Luu helped Allan Hancock take the top spot in the team standings, finishing with 140 points – eight ahead of second-place Riverside City. Orange Coast took the third spot with 153 points, while Cerritos was close behind with 156.
In the men’s race, the competition at the top was just as fierce, but Bakersfield ended up on the top of the team standings with 106 points thanks in part to a first-place finish from Jacob Perez. Perez took the lead about halfway through the race before crossing the line at 20:52.1 – the only sub 21-minute time in the 4-mile race. Teammate Atzin Anguiano helped boost the Renegades, finishing seventh at 21:28.1.
Moorpark was close behind with 111 points, as two of their runners finished in the top four: Tommy White finished second at 21:00.3, while Dylan Brown was fourth at 21:10.6. Cerritos finished one point behind for third, while Riverside City finished with 115 points. San Bernardino Valley had three runners in the top 20 as well, finishing with 123 points.
Rounding out the top five individuals were Cuesta’s Weston Greenelsh in third at 21:05.4, and Joseph Chavarria of host Chaffey in fifth at 21:22.3.
There were 27 scoring teams in the main race, while nine schools scored in the overflow race, which featured a field of 123 runners (after 207 participated in the main race). In the overflow, San Bernardino Valley took the top spot, with Mt. San Antonio – which finished 10th in the main race – in second, followed by Riverside City, Cerritos, and Bakersfield.
(Bill Norris, San Bernardino Valley College Athletics)