Butte College men and women claim matching Golden Valley Cross Country Championships

REDDING - The GVC Championships took place at Shasta College on November 2.  It was an ideal day for racing, with athletes from host Shasta College, Butte College, College of the Redwoods and new programs Lake Tahoe Community College and Mendocino College all gathering to showcase their fitness and represent their schools. 

 

The women’s race was especially exciting, as Jennifer Johnson from Butte led for most of it. However, with less than half a mile to go, Caitlin Fulbright and Niza Barton from Lake Tahoe surged to the front, securing the top two spots. Fulbright would cross first in a swift 18:40 followed by teammate Barton in 18:48. Johnson would hold on for third also breaking the 19 minute barrier in 18:53. Anna Grimmet of College of the Redwoods placed fourth in 19:42. With the top four all freshmen, next year's Golden Valley Conference Championship should be equally competitive for the individual title.

The men’s race was equally thrilling, with Stephan Chapdelaine and Phillip Logan from Butte running strong and side by side for most of the race. In an impressive push, Jacob Christopher from Lake Tahoe moved up, finishing second in 20:23 behind Chapdelaine's winning 20:18 time. Chapdelaine improved on his early season 20:54 run on the same course in winning the GVC Preview Meet. Logan would hold on for third in 21:09 with teammate Mark Velasquez-Patino fourth. Lake Tahoe added Jackson Davis in fifth, a year after being LTCC's first GVC champion. Benjamin Trujillo represented well for the host Shasta College in sixth in 21:52. Butte rounded out their team score with Christopher Brennan in seventh and Tristan Bobadilla in eighth. 

 

Butte demonstrated their team depth and strength, ultimately winning both the men’s and women’s team championships with scores of 17 points for the men and 19 points for the women. Redwoods was the only other scoring women's team and Shasta College also fielded a full men's team to advance to the Northern California Championship.