Bakersfield College sophomore Brittany Grimes took first place in the women’s race at the Bakersfield Cross Country Invitational last Friday.
“As soon as I start breaking away, I start to hear things,” she said, referring to other runners catching up to her. But Grimes had nothing to worry about. At a time of 17 minutes and 51 seconds, Grimes finished far ahead of any of her competitors. Rebecca Reyes, of Cuesta College, finished second with a time of 18:31.
Grimes has been running since the third grade and her experience is apparent. She finished in first place at the Sept. 10 Fresno Invitational and came in second place at the Orange Coast Invitational on Sept. 24.
Grimes’ first place win helped the women’s cross-country team take fourth place overall out of 13 participating schools with a score of 77. The BC men’s team finished third overall out of 15 schools with a score of 99.
Looking forward to the Southern California and State championships, women’s coach Pam Kelley expects her team to continue to perform well.
“We need to stay focused. This was a good match-up and we’ll come back strong next week,” she said.
Men’s coach Dave Frickel has high expectations for his team as well. The third place team finish is the best the team has had so far this season.
“We’re getting better each time. We want both teams to qualify for the state meet. I think we can do that barring any injury,” he said, adding, “Knock on wood.”
Finishing in sixth place with a time of 20:58 in the men’s race, BC freshman Brian Noonan also sees improvement.
“That was a PR (personal record),” he said. “I’ve run faster every race so far. I wanted to break 21:00, so I’m satisfied.”
First place in the men’s race went to Jesus Solis of Allan Hancock College who had a time of 20:30.
Other top finishers for the BC women’s team were Clarissa Rivera, who placed seventh in 19:11; Andrea Jackson, who placed 21st with a time of 20:33. Bethany Lopez placed 23rd with 20:47, and Christa McCann, 25th and posted a time of 20:56.
Top finishers for the men’s team were Francisco Mejia who finished 13th with a 21:33, Jason Lewis completed the race in 21:57 and finished in 18th place. Steven Cavazos finished in 23rd place with a 22:22 and Ian Heiter place 39th with a 23:05.