Cross Country Teams Show Strong Progress at SoCal Championships, Men Qualify for State

After a strong second-place finish at the IEAC conference championships for both the men's and women's teams, the Chaffey College cross country program continues to impress under first-year head coach Kristin Crowell.

The SoCal Championships proved to be a successful outing for both teams, with eight of eleven athletes achieving personal bests on the course compared to their times at the preview meet last month. Cecilia Morales led the Panthers, finishing in 32nd place with a time of 20:53.0, a 37-second improvement from her previous race on the same course. Morales will be the sole women’s representative for the Panther’s at the state championships. Other finishers for the Panthers included Jessika Paulson (22:49.4), Leahna Barajas (23:00.1), and Hayle Lopez (27:25.3).

The men's team also secured a spot at the 3C2A State Championships, led by Joseph Chavarria, who placed 29th with a time of 21:32.3. The team finished 16th-place overall with an average time of 23:11, with contributions from Chad Struempf (22:04.5), Adam Espinoza (23:27.3), Hugo Meneses (24:10.2), Airic Medina (24:42.0), and Carlos Espada (25:34.0).

Coach Crowell was extremely proud of her team, stating, "This experience really showed us how every single spot matters, and now we are off to states."

The 3C2A State Championships will be held at Woodward Park in Fresno, California on Saturday, November 23.