Bakersfield College’s cross country standout Brittany Grimes outdistanced the competition and crossed over into history as the first BC woman to place first in the California Community College State Cross Country Championships, which were held at Woodward Park in Fresno on Nov. 19.
Grimes, a BC sophomore, clocked in at 18 minutes and 19 seconds during the women’s three-mile run.
The last time a BC student gained a victory of this magnitude was in 1969, and that was a male student, said BC women’s cross country and track coach Pam Kelley.
BC Freshman Clarissa Rivera came in 11th. Rivera came in second in the recent Southern California meet, and she also has had “a very good year” as well as Grimes, Kelley said. Rivera clocked in at 19:21 at the state championships.
The BC women’s cross country team placed sixth in the state meet.
“The team was just 15 points out of fifth,” Kelley said. “We haven’t placed like that in a long time.”
Grimes felt that the competition at the state meet was formidable; however, she said that the top runners appeared to “peak” far too early. She said that she came to the meet nervous and expecting the unexpected. According to Grimes, the unexpected did happen.
“Everybody fell back,” Grimes said. Early on, she said, “I was already 15 yards ahead of another girl.”
However, this did not cause Grimes to relax, she said.
“When I had 400 meters to go, I realized I didn’t come to get second place,” she said. “I worked too hard for that.”
Grimes held on to her lead and did not take any chances. Another competitor might have moved ahead of her, she felt.
“You don’t how people will run until after the first mile,” Grimes said. “The race doesn’t start until after the first mile.”
The BC men’s cross country also participated in the statewide competition.
The men did not qualify as a team but had three individuals qualify. BC sophomore Jason Lewis placed 28th in the four-mile run in 21:30. Sophomore Francisco Mejia placed 96th and clocked in at 22:19. Freshman Brian Noonan took 115th with a time of 22:33.