Huskies take third in cross country

SAN BERNARDINO, CA.—All five East Los Angeles College women ran personal records and took third place as a result in the Foothill Invitational, Oct. 2 in the San Bernardino Soccer Complex.

It was the final Foothill Invitational because the Foothill Conference will be disbanded at the end of the season.

ELAC sophomores Viridiana Hernandez (South Gate High School) and Luz Badillo (Alhambra) were both named to the All-Women’s Top-10 Team.

Hernandez placed fourth and finished in 19:08 minutes. Badillo finished in 10th place in 20:12. “The awards won by Viri and Luz are well deserved,” said ELAC Coach Louis Ramirez. “They work hard and get better each week.”

Four seconds was all it took for Badillo to edge freshman teammate Rosa Arellano (Schurr), who took 11th place and finished in 20:16.

Sophomore Melissa Preciado (Bell Gardens) took 16th place (20:55). Freshman Jazmin Ortiz (Bell Gardens) finished in 34th place (24:27).

The Huskies edged Santiago Canyon, who placed fourth, by eight points. Both teams’ top-five ran personal records.

ELAC had more depth and defeated the Hawks for the second consecutive week after losing to them at the SoCal Preview Sept. 18.

ELAC’s goal was to finish third according to the coaches. “We were short one women, but another dropped out,” said Ramirez. “We managed to reach our goal with the personal records.”

Even with the hard fought win against Santiago Canyon, the Huskies need to improve according to Ramirez. “Our top three women ran really well, but our No. 4 and 5 need to run quicker.”

Victor Valley College got by College of the Desert for fifth place.

ELAC is at the Santa Barbara Invitational Friday, Oct. 9 with a 3 p.m. start time for the women’s 5k race. Competition is at Shoreline Park and begins on Leadbetter Beach.

story submitted by Tadzio Garcia