Bakersfield College cross country
runner Francisco Mejia finished 14th
out of 184 in the men’s four-mile run
in the Ventura Invitational Sept. 4.
Mejia finished with a time of 23 minutes,
32 seconds, and the sophomore
led the BC men. The BC men finished
eighth as a team. BC men Robert
Quintero, Steven Gonzales, Gehrig
Smith and Ariel Hurtado finished in
the top 80. L.A. Trade Tech men finished
first for the men.

BC’s Melinda Magee finished first
for the BC women and 41st overall in
the 5-kilometer. Sophomore Magee
finished with a time of 26:44. For
the rest of the BC women, Christine
Kubli, Emnet Habebo, Erica Garcia
and Donna East all finished in the
top 60. BC women finished fifth out
of six teams. L.A. Trade Tech women
finished first.

Head BC coach Dave Frickel
was pleased with his runners
and clarified his expectations.
“Melinda was one of our better runners
last year. Ement Habebeo is running
again for us – she sat out last
year so she’s getting herself back
into shape. Christine Kubli ran a
good race – she’s a new face for us.
With the girls, most of the women’s
team is basically new.” Frickel added,
“They’re enthusiastic and they are
working hard,” and explained that the
new runners will be “kind of getting
their feet wet, figuring out something
new.”

Frickel has optimistic expectations
about the teams, as he said, “This
group will grow and they’ll get a lot
better a lot better as we go through the
season.”

Frickel described the cross country’s
first invitational at Ventura as
very intimidating but made clear that
for the rest of the season, the runners
won’t see anything close in difficulty.

“Ventura’s a very brutal course. To
open up at that course is a rude awakening
for a lot of the athletes. I think
they’re in shock. They’ve never seen a
course like that,” said Frickel.

The BC men and women will travel
Sept. 12 to the Fresno Invitational.