Toni Lopez Wins Brubaker; Men Finish Second

Toni Lopez (left) was the winner of the women's race at the Brubaker Invitational while Paulino Sanchez (right) was the first of three Dons to finish in order with Geovany Garcia and Edwin Ortiz-Lopez close behind.
Toni Lopez (left) was the winner of the women's race at the Brubaker Invitational while Paulino Sanchez (right) was the first of three Dons to finish in order with Geovany Garcia and Edwin Ortiz-Lopez close behind.

ORANGE - The Dons enjoyed a strong performance in both the men's and women's races of their own Brubaker Invitational. Toni Lopez started the morning off right as she easily won the women's race before a trio of the men's runners finished top-10 to give the men's team a second place finish.

Lopez crossed the finish line nearly a whole minute ahead of her nearest competition as she claimed her second victory of the season. Ana Diaz was the next Don across as she finished in 15th place. Lizbeth Luciano finished 31st, Angie Gomez finished 35th, Maria Baeza finished 45th and Lizeth Luciano finished 49th to round out the team scoring. As a team, the women took sixth place.

During the men's race, Paulino Sanchez led the pack of Dons across the finish line in sixth place with Geovany Garcia right behind him in seventh place and Edwin Ortiz-Lopez one more spot back in eighth place. Brian Ambrocio was next across in 21st place followed by Ramiro Santos in 30th place. That tight of a finish was enough to place the Dons second, behind race-winner San Bernardino Valley.

Rounding out the men's top-five was Saddleback College in third, Orange Coast College in fourth and Cerritos College in fifth. In the women's race, Cerritos was the overall winner with Palomar College in second, Saddleback in third, Orange Coast in fourth and El Camino College in fifth.