FULLERTON, Calif. – The Santa Ana College Cross Country program competed in its first meet of the season on Saturday morning. The Dons traveled to Ted Craig Regional Park to race against some of the top and NAIA, NCAA Division II and III teams along with one other local community college (El Camino) in the second annual Biola Invitational.
First up were the men, which included 10 different teams running on an 8K course. The Dons finished 8th overall as a team but had some standouts that did very well against the tough competition.
Jesus Fuentes finished as the top runner for the Dons, coming in 43rd place with a time of 27:19.31. Not far behind him was Daniel Gonzalez, who placed 45th with a time of 27:20.21. The Dons lone sophomore, Jeremiah Gil was next to come in, placing 79th with a time of 28:31.83.
On the women's side, the Dons competed against 11 other teams on a 5K course, finishing 12th in their first race of the season. Freshmen Monique Azpeitia and Andrea Anaya ran side by side, finishing 105th and 106th overall. Azpeitia marked a time of 21:49.51 while Anaya came in at 21:50.60.
With this great experience against top competition under their belt, the young Dons teams will look to improve when they head to Santa Clarita to compete in SoCal Preview at Central Park on Friday, Sept. 15th.
