Bakersfield College cross country runners Cesar Mireles, Emilley Leming and Lorin Maki finished with their personal best records at the California Community College Athletic Association cross country state championships in Fresno on Nov. 22.
Mireles finished 50th out of 199 men on the four-mile course with a time of 21 minutes, 24.91 seconds. Mireles was the only BC male to qualify for state this season.
The only BC women that qualified for the state championship individually were Leming and Maki. Leming finished 49th out of 191 women with a time of 19:38.15 on a 5-kilometer course (3.1 miles). Teammate Maki finished 89th with a time of 20:25.48.
San Bernardino Valley won its third straight men’s state championship with a total time of 1:43:14 and a score of 50. Muluken Beressa of San Diego Mesa College took the men’s individual title with a time of 19:56.46. However, SBVC had six runners in the top 25 of the men’s 4-mile race, which led to their state championship.
Orange Coast College won the women’s title with a total time of 1:33:13 and a score of 84. Crystal Reed of OCC took the individual women’s title for the second consecutive year with a time of 17:35.11.
BC cross country coach Dave Frickel was pleased with the season. “I think we did well. It’s going to help them in the spring in track,” he said.
Frickel is also the coach for the men’s and women’s track and field teams in the spring. Frickel mentioned that the men’s cross country team has half freshmen runners who will be returning, and that the women’s team will need more runners next fall. “We have to shop for girls,” said Frickel.