Four-of-a-kind is possible as American River College men hold the cards; Glendale Coll. women seek to regain title at Woodward Park
(FRESNO) Although they don't hold a pat hand, the American River College men's cross country team is looking at four-of-a-kind in seeking another state championship. Winners of the last three, the Beavers are heavy favorites to win the 51st California Community College Men's Championships at Fresno's Woodward Park, Saturday Nov. 22. Race time is 11 a.m.
If ARC wins a fourth straight as expected, it will cement a dynasty foundation for coach Rick Anderson. He also won in 2005 and guided ARC to runner-up finishes in 2003 and 2010.
ARC increased its odds by dominating the Northern California Championships at Crystal Springs in Millbrae on Nov. 8. The Beavers defeated Hartnell 23-63 by placing six runners in the top eight! Led by freshmen Abdul Hamid (21:02.7) and Sean Green (21:15.4), they finished second and third behind individual champ Diego Leon (20:54.3) of Hartnell. Jesus Salas (21:26.6) from College of the Sequoias was fourth. Not far back was ARC's twin sophomore brothers, Patrick and Sean Jagerson in fifth and sixth at 21:42.2 and 21:44.8. Freshman teammate David French (21:45.3) secured the team title finishing seventh just ahead of ARC sophomore Aidan Schraer (21:46.2).
In addition to Hartnell, ARC will receive strong opposition from Southern California champion College of the Canyons and runner-up Mt. San Antonio College. The Cougars outpointed the Mounties 90-121. San Bernardino Valley, which won a record five straight state championships from 2006-2010, was third at 135. Canyons will be led by sophomores Rodrigo Ornelas (20:17.3) and Grant Stromberg (20:26.3) who were fifth and ninth at the SoCal Championships. Orange Coast sophomore Lucio Ramirez (20:03.0) was the individual champ.
The CCCAA's 38th Women's championships will begin at 10am and again feature last year's two freshman individual stars and a Central Valley Conference angle: Northern California and CVC champ Yesenia Silva (17:14.4) from College of the Sequoias and Laura Aceves (17:57.5) of East Los Angeles. Aceves caught and passed Silva to win the 2013 individual state title by three seconds in a thrilling, final 400 yards. Silva is undefeated this year, and Aceves was second in the SoCal championship to Southwestern freshman standout, Aminat Olowora (17:31.4). Expect all three to have big influence in the 2014 finale.
Not as much in the spotlight, Glendale College has a great and long-time running tradition. GC has alternated winning state championships with Orange Coast in recent years and is back as a strong favorite to claim another title. Glendale won the SoCal title defeating Mt. SAC 61-79. GC is led by four talented freshmen: Jassmine Macon (18:25.6), Stacy Macias (18:50.4), Moriah Ayala (18:51.4) and Concepcion Flores (19:00.3) who finished third, 10th, eleventh and 17th at the SoCal Championships. Sophomore Glindill Mancie (19:12.9) clinched the team title placing 20th.
Eighteen Southern California women's teams qualified for the state championships while ten teams qualified from Northern California. Their distance is 3.1 miles. The men, also with ten NorCal and 18 SoCal teams, run four miles.
Rain is possible on Wednesday and Thursday in the Fresno area. Saturday's forecast calls for partly cloudy skies, a high of 59 and a slight chance of rain. Temperatures at race time are expected in the mid 50s. Woodward Park fall colors are splendid and early November rain helped firm up the course. Unless Thursday's rain is much stronger than expected, running conditions should be ideal. The top 14 runners in both races receive All-America status.
About 450 runners from approximately 55 community colleges are expected to compete.