Preview: Women’s Cross Country Ready for CCCAA State Championship Action

The Riverside City College women's cross country team is due for a strong performance at the California Community College Athletic Association (CCCAA) State Championship this Saturday, November 20 at Woodward Park in Fresno, CA. After two-consecutive championship podium finishes this season, the Tigers are looking to make it three in a row.

Riverside hauled in an Orange Empire Conference (OEC) Championship while completing the perfect 15 score, meaning RCC swept the top five positions among eligible runners. After a Southern California regional podium finish, more eyes are on the Tigers.

"I feel like we have a little more of a target on our backs," said Head Coach Damien Smith. "We still have to go out and stay healthy, execute, and run well together as a team."

The positive progression of the team is seen in improving times and team finishes. The Tigers have continued to trend upward in the final results.

"I feel like we were always a team that runs well at the end of the year. At SoCals, we didn't know what to expect from our opponents. We wanted to make a run for the podium, but the focus of that meet was to feel out the competition and get to state meet and try to make the podium."

The goalis clear – podium, podium and podium. If the Tigers are able to land on the podium in Woodward Park, it would be Smith's first time landing top-three in state as the Head Coach.

" We try to take every meet one at a time, and so we would really like to make the podium. The goal was to win conference, feel out at SoCals, and ultimately land on the podium at state."

Riverside has landed on the podium five times this season. They began the season with consecutive third place finishes at the Redlands Invitational and the CSU San Bernardino Invitational. They followed with a third-place showing at the San Diego Mesa Invitational capped by a top finish at the OEC Championships and a runner up showing at the Southern California Regionals.

"I'll say this, after the summer we lost two of our top five runners. For the girl to still come back knowing they lost a couple of key pieces, they still trained hard and knew what the goal was. They practiced hard and believed what the coaches were doing. They believed in the training."

Leading the charge at the line is sophomore Brianna Rodriguez. After a solid showing as the top runner for the Tigers throughout the season, she recently snapped the tape at the OEC Championships earning her an individual championship and the OEC Female Runner of the Year.

It has been a consistent grouping of Tigers at the top with sophomores Elani Huntley and Helena Valdez typically rounding out the top three. Huntley placed second at the OEC Championships (20:53.6), while Valdez placed third (21:26.7).

Freshman Brianna Mendez-Espain has jumped into Riverside's top three on numerous occasions with her best showing coming at the Vanguard Invitational. She also placed fifth at the OEC Championships.

"We have been running a really good top three. The key piece is our fourth and fifth girls; you're only as good as your fifth runner. If our four and five can close the gap, we will be in great shape to be top three in the state."