It was an early rise for the Bakersfield College cross country team, as they traveled to Costa Mesa for the Orange Coast Invitational for a 9:30 a.m. start time on Sept. 15.
When they got there, they were forced to deal with extremely hot weather conditions, not to mention the long drive down.
In the 3.1 mile women’s race, the BC women finished in the 17th position among 27 schools, with a total time of 1:53:01, and an average time of 22:36.
The BC men finished 23rd overall in the 4-mile race among 26 schools, with a total time of 2:04:05, and an average time of 24:53.
The top three women for BC were Moriah Milwee, with a time of 21:05.46; Orieth Rodriguez (22:13.57), and Alejandra Jimenez (23:18.34). For the BC men, their top three performers were Misael Herrera (23:05.95), Triandous Hobson (24:38.61), and Terry Duncil (28:00.24).
Orange Coast College took the top spot in the women’s team competition, with a 1:38.08 total time, and an average time of 19:37.
American River College captured first place in the men’s team prize, with a winning time of 1:44:53, and an average time of 20:58.
Grace Graham-Zamudio of Glendale College won the women’s race, posting a mark of 18:38.48.
Munir Kahssay of Cerritos College took the top spot for the men, with a 20:38.05 winning time.
BC assistant coach Dave Frickel talked about the very bad running conditions facing his squad.
“It was brutal conditions out there, about the time of the day we ended up running, it was nearly a 100 degrees, so they had some pretty bad conditions down there.
“It was a tough day, we took a lot of the kids to the hospital down there.
“We were up there on the bluffs where there’s absolutely no shade.
“When we got off the bus, I was shocked, it was really hot, and it was about 8:30 (a.m.), and I was thinking this is not a good time.
“It was crazy hot, so they were just packin the kids away, carting them to the hospital, so it was not a good deal.”
On Sept. 8, BC competed in the Fresno City College 2012 Cross Country Invitational, held at Woodward Park in Fresno.
The women ran 3.1 miles, and there were 17 schools competing, with 155 women participating in the race.
The men ran 4 miles, and there were 20 schools that participated, with 179 men competing.
The BC women finished 10th overall as a team, with a time of 1:48:53, and average time of 21:47. The BC men posted a 17th place finish, as they ran an overall time of 2:00:12, and a 24:03 average clocking.
The top three runners for the BC men was Misael Herrera (89th), with a total time of 23:18, and average time per mile of 5:50, Davis Loustalot (118), 23:59, 6:00, and Roberto Davalos (120), 24:03, 6:01.
The Renegades women top three were Moriah Millwee (39), 20:45, 6:42, Orieth Rodriguez (58), 21:20, 6:53, and Maleeya Hermosilla (77), 22:08, 7:09.
“We raced against some of the top schools in Northern California, those are probably some of the better programs that are on the board.
“This time we had Southern Cal teams mixed in with the NorCal schools, so it’s kind of like a little precursor to the state meet.
“I think we had some good improvement, a lot of the kids dropped from the week before. Ventura is a pretty brutal course, many of the kids dropped anywhere from a minute to a minute and a half, some even dropped more, so overall, we’re improving, we’re getting better,” said Frickel.
American River College in Sacramento finished first in the team standings for the men, with 20 total points. They posted a total time of 1:44:57, and an avg. time of 21:00.
Luis Luna of ARC won the individual prize with a winning time of 20:47, and an average time of 5:12.
For the women, Orange Coast College in Costa Mesa took first place with a total time of 1:38:08 and 54 total team points. Grace Graham-Zamudio of Glendale College finished as the top individual with a winning time of 18:35, and an avg. time of 6:00.
The Renegades will have their next meet at Huntington Beach on Sept. 22.