Men's and Women's Cross Country Returns to action at the Big 8 Conference Preview

After 21 months of no competition, the Bear Cubs returned to the trails at the Big 8 Conference Preview.  The race was almost in doubt; with smoke and AQI ratings raising in east Sacramento, the meet was moved from Folsom Lake College to American River College at the last minute.  The ever changing landscape did not deter the team as there were a number of great performances on the day.

The women started the action at 8:00am on the campus course consisting of grass, dirt, road, and track.  Madi Monroe lead the squad with an 8th place finish with a time of 21:21.90 over the 5k campus course. Milla Gentry returned to a sport she left over three years ago to run a near personal record of 22:49.00. Isabella Calderon just outside the top 20 with a time of 23:29.90.  Rounding out the squad Emma Watkins finished with a time of 28:23.50. Though not running a full squad (due to injury and eligibility), the Women had a great showing and are set up to have a fantastic season.

The men stepped to the line, ready to battle it out against a full deck of very competitive teams from across the Big 8 Conference.  Paden Collard held strong in the lead pack early on and would go on to finish 7th with a time of 20:59.60 over the 4-mile course.  Dante Godinez (21:47.30) and Nathan Hayes (21:58.50) finished 15th and 16threspectively while Luke Baird (22:49.60) and Jimmy Carreras (23:38.00) rounded out the top five.  The men finished 3rd with 64 points falling to American River College (17 points) and Delta College (60 points).

The SRJC Men's and Women's Cross Country team will train through a bye week to get ready for a return to Sacramento at the NorCal Championships Preview meet hosted by Sierra College on September 10th.