Written by SBCC Cross Country Head Coach Scott Fickerson
RIVERSIDE, CA – The SBCC cross country teams competed for the first time this season in the men's and women's open races at the Riverside Invite.
Men's
Alejandro Rosillo and Bennett Christensen represented the Vaquero men racing the 8K (4.97 miles) at Riverside's Agricultural Operations Course.
Most years, the Southern California Preview meet is held this weekend, and is generally considered a mandatory meet on the schedule. A postponement of that meet opened the opportunity to kick off the season running over distance and against strong competition at Riverside as the majority of the 35+ schools in attendance were 4-year universities. The only other California CC's in attendance were Moorpark & Mt SAC. As a coach, I saw this as a gift – a rare chance to test our mettle in challenging conditions to make the rest of the season's races seem easier in comparison.
Alex and Ben ran smart races, not allowing the fast start to pull them out beyond their capabilities. Remaining disciplined and patient, both runners moved up through the race and battled the course and the runners around them to kick off the season with a strong effort that will set them up for success the remainder of the season as they race just four miles. Likewise the depth of competition will be far reduced and they will find themselves running much farther forward than they did today.
I'm proud of how the handled the difficult conditions they faced today. Alex led the way covering the 8K in 28:09 to place 164th in the 226 runner field. Bennett ran 31:32 to place 212th. The men will race next Friday, Sept. 23 at the rescheduled Southern California Preview meet at the Kern County Soccer Complex in Bakersfield.
Women's
Sage Holter, a freshman out of Hailey, Idaho, led the Vaquera women today for the 6K (3.73 miles) Invitational race.
Sage handled the challenging situation with poise and aplomb for a relatively inexperienced runner. While she did get dragged out a little faster than we would have preferred by the stiff competition, she held her focus and didn't let it rattle her. She continued to battle throughout the race and covered the 6K distance in 22:45 to place 187th in the women's invitational race which had 265 finishers. This placed her ahead of all but one of the other California CC runners, and now that one has a target on her back.
