Men & Women Cross Country Qualify for CCCAA State Championships

The Riverside City College men's and women's cross country teams participated in the California Community College Athletic Association (CCCAA) Southern California Regional Championships Friday morning hosted by Cerritos College. Both sides performed well with the women earning sixth place and the men finishing in eighth place.

Women

The Tigers earned their sixth-place finish after finishing with a team time of 1:37:04.30. Sophomore Sujey Esteva was the top finisher for Riverside with a time of 18:54.3. to land in the top-25 at 21^st overall.

Freshman Emiliana Merida Cano followed in 33^rd place with a mark of 19:20.6., backed by freshman Ariel Martinez finishing in 37^th place with a time of 19:33.4. Freshman Aliy Camacho finished closed behind at a clip of 19:34.4. to earn 38^th place.

Freshman Genesis Obispo landed just outside the top-40 in 42^nd place after crossing the finish line with a time reading 19:41.6.

Men

It was the 2018 Orange Empire conference (OEC) Champion Enrique Villa who paced the Tigers leading them to an eighth place finish with a team time reading 1:44:11.6. Villa placed ninth overall marking the fifth time this season he has placed in the top-10. He earned a personal time of 19:49.5.

Sophomore Austin Dai finished in the to-25 as he crossed the finish line with a time of 20:13.8. to finish in 24^th place. Freshman Ricardo Ruiz was the next-best finisher as he placed 71^st overall with a mark of 21:12.4.

"We went out and did what we needed to do to qualify for state," said Head Coach Jim McCarron. "Now we need to fine tune them up and get ready for a strong finish at the Woodward Park in Fresno."

Riverside will look to reel in a state title on Saturday, November 17 at Woodward Park in Fresno, CA.