Competing in the Santa Barbara Invitational on Oct. 12, the Bakersfield College cross-country team placed fifth in the women’s 5-kilometer run with a time of one hour, fifty-six minutes, and fifty-two seconds. Leading the BC women was Moriah Milwee with a 19th place finish, and a time of 21:58.28.
The women’s field consisted of 13 teams, and Orange Coast College finished first in 1:44:58. Grace Graham-Zamudio of Glendale College took home the individual first place honor, with a winning time of 19:54.39. Across the board, times were slower at this event since it was run on a beach course.
In the men’s 4-mile race, BC finished 12th among 13 teams, posting a time of 2:06:08. Pacing the BC men was Roberto Davalos, as he finished 64th in 24:39.97. Riverside College won the team race in 1:52:54, and Daniel Guerrero of Sequoias College won the individual race in 21:58.63.
At the WSC Preview Meet on Oct. 5 in Santa Monica, the BC women placed fifth in the 5k run, finishing in 1:56.04. There were 13 schools competing, as well as 114 female runners. Moriah Milwee was the top BC female, as she finished 17th with a time of 21:42.57.
On the men’s side, the Renegades placed sixth in the four mile run. Their total time was 2:02.43, and the top BC male was Roberto Davalos, as he placed 25th with a time of 5:53. The men’s field included 10 schools and 101 athletes. It was probably the team’s best showing of the year according to BC assistant coach David Frickel.
“Robby (Davalos) had a great race, Misael (Herrera) turned his ankle again, so it was the third time for him, but he got through the race. This was their best effort of the season as a group, they ran pretty well. I explained to everybody that we need to run well as a group again, so that we have an opportunity to go on to the post season,” said Frickel.
Glendale took home first place in the women’s race, in a total time of 1:43.06. Grace Graham-Zamudio from Glendale was the top female, winning the race in 19:29.06.
The Glendale men also finished first in the four-mile race, as they ran 1:49:11. Gordon Sturgess of Cuesta College won the men’s race in 21:20.53.
On Oct. 23, BC will compete in the WSC finals at Santa Barbara City College.
If both squads finish in the top six, they will earn a spot in the post season.