Young Tigers Cross Country Runners Finish Second at Rio Hondo Classic Friday
EL MONTE -- Posting a solid finish with a young squad at the Rio Hondo Classic, the Riverside City College (RCC) Tigers men's cross country team finished second among 12 teams Friday morning (Sept. 5) at Legg Lake Park in El Monte.
The Southwestern College Jaguars won the meet (35 points) which covered a distance of four miles.
RCC freshman Willie Raus (Murrieta / Murrieta Mesa HS) led the Tigers with a third-place finish (19:53) and was the fastest freshman in a field of 103 runners. His pace per mile was 4:58.
"Willie (Raus) really showed that he wants to be one of the top distance runners in the state this season," said RCC head men's cross country coach Jim McCarron. "He is a hard worker and he knows that he is going to improve. He has a bright future in cross country and track and field," continued McCarron.
Freshmen earned five of the top seven spots on the team.
The Tigers (62 points) edged third-place El Camino (66 points) because of solid packing. The Tigers' second finisher was Doug Negrete (Damien HS), who finished 13th overall (20:57). He was followed by Dennis Gonzalez (Cathedral City HS), whi was 14th (21:03), Julio Martinez (Roosevelt HS), who was 15th (21:08), and Hector Ruiz (Carter HS), who was 17th (21:11) to round out the top five.
The Tigers will race next Saturday morning (Sat. 13) at 7am in the UC Riverside Invitational.
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