Bakersfield College sophomore cross country runner Francisco Mejia finished 48th overall and first for BC in the men’s 4-mile run at the Southern California community college championships on Nov. 6 at Mt. San Antonio College. Mejia’s time was 22 minutes, 4 seconds.

Teammate Robert Quintero, a freshman, finished behind Mejia in 74th. While the men’s team did not qualify, both Mejia and Quintero qualified for the state championships in Fresno Nov. 21.

In the women’s 5-kilometer race, BC sophomore Emnet Habebo finished 90th overall and first for BC, with a time of 20:56. Habebo qualified for the state championships by finishing in the top 93.

BC sophomore Emily Lemming missed qualifying for state with a 109th place finish.

“They ran well. They ran faster than last time,” said BC coach Dave Frickel. “[It’s] just that everybody ran faster, too.”

Frickel mentioned that the teams “gave a good effort as team. They did a good job.”

With only two BC women in the 5k, Frickel said about the results, “Emnet got in. Emily missed by a few spots.”

However, Frickel was pleased with the women’s efforts. “Both of them ran their seasonal best. [They] ran their best time of the year at that meet, so that’s all you can ask for.”

The last time both the men’s and women’s cross country teams qualified for state was two seasons ago.

Frickel’s words of advice for his three runners going to state championships were this: “Run fast and keep going.”