CHINO, Calif. — Freshman Rachael Dela Cruz posted a top-20 finish to lead the University of La Verne women's cross country team at the 2015 SCIAC Cross Country Championships on Saturday morning at Prado Park. Tanner Long was the top finisher for the men, finishing 32nd.
Dela Cruz has consistently led the women all season and today she was rewarded for her hard work, earning a Second Team All-SCIAC honor. She finished 16th overall with a time of 24 minutes, 23.60 seconds.
"Rachael bounced back and ran to her potential today," said La Verne head coach Bryan George. "Getting All-Conference recognition as a freshman is a big deal."
Following Dela Cruz with a strong finish in 34th place was fellow freshman Melissa Cerrillos with a time of 25:20.18. Running her final conference race, Senior Andrea Valdez finished the 6-kilometer course in 85th place overall with a time of 28:04.40 and Miranda Chavez was right behind Valdez at 28:51.80. Daisy Perez and Lorena Rodriguez closed the pack with time of 31:48.91 and 33:36.47, respectively.
"The women have showed improvement in every competition this year and that continued today," George said of the women's team. "This group has made a lot of progress and it's nice to see that on race day."
On the men's side, freshman Samuel Johnny led the Leopards for most of the race, but Long took over the lead towards the end and finished with a time of 27:28.52, and Johnny finished 36th at 27:33.49.
Christopher Arcos, who led the men's team at every meet this year, was unable to finish the race to due an injury.
Antonio Rivera (27:53.77) finished 45th, Joel Sincock (28:25.04) was 61st and Marcelo Arcos (28:33.08) came in 64th. Mario Martinez (29:40.12) and Damon Gomez (31:49.37) rounded out La Verne's lineup.
"The men continue to battle inconsistency on an individual level, which is fixable," George commented on the men. "We have made a chance to make a lot of noise at the regional meet if we can put it together on the same day."
The Leopards have one final chance to compete in two weeks at the West Regional Meet held on Nov. 14. "We've traditionally done well at the regional meet and I'm expecting that trend to continue," George said.
