Bakersfield College’s women’s cross country team qualified for the state championships by finishing 17th at the Southern California cross country championships in Costa Mesa on Nov. 3.

The BC women’s squad qualified as a team in the 5K run, placing 17th among 28 teams. They finished with an overall time of 1:46:44, an average time of 21:20, and a total score of 453 points. The top BC runner was once again Moriah Milwee, who finished in the 60th spot with a time of 20:34, an average time of 6:37, and a score of 57 points.

BC coach David Frickel mentioned the women’s performance in Costa Mesa. “They did a great job, all the ladies on the team had their seasonal best,” he said.

The State meet will be at Woodward Park in Fresno on Nov. 17.

“They raced in Fresno already earlier in the year, so this will be a good opportunity to see how much they’ve improved,” he said. “

The BC men were eliminated from further competition, as they finished 27th out of 28 schools with 749 points.

Women’s golf

Bakersfield College women’s golf qualified Chelsey Roberts to Regionals, but BC’s only qualifier struggled in a longer course placing 26 out of the 35 individual participants of the Regionals on Nov. 5-6. The Regionals were held at San Luis Rey Downs Country Club in Bonsall, CA. Roberts ended with a 186 (94 the first day and 92 the second day), while College of the Canyons’ Christen Grimes took the individual title with a score of 150 (71-79). “I thought she tried really and did pretty good,” said BC coach Bob Paillet. “She hit some good shots, but the course was a little bit longer.

“I was very pleased how the team came together in the last two weeks,” he said. “I was very pleased how hard Chelsey and Andrea Marquez tried to make the Regionals.

“They practiced hard, they played hard and that’s all I can ask for. He added that Roberts, Taylor Kurtz and Melissa Lopez are returning next year.

He explained that he and CSUB’s women’s golf coach, Tony Bernardin, have come to a co-operation that BC will get some of the golfers that aren’t ready to play Division 1 golf.

“There are only so many girls that can play college-level golf out of high school,” he said. “If we’re both trying to get them, neither one of us will succeed. If we can work together, I work with the girls for 1-2 years and they’re more mature then they can go to Cal State or some other four-year college.”