For the first time in over a decade, the Citrus College cross country team hosted the Western State Conference Preview on Sept. 29 at Bonelli Park in San Dimas.
The cross country team was surprised when they discovered they would be hosting the WSC Preview, but Citrus head coach Alicia Longyear said they were up for the challenge.
The team has been practicing at Bonelli Park since summer in order to get a feel for and learn the course, Longyear said.
Out of 15 teams, the women’s cross country team placed sixth, with their front-runner Marissa Montoya placing 12th.
“The girls performed well with not even having all of their girl’s race,” Longyear said.
The men’s cross country team was unable to score, due to two of its members, Adrian Maciel and Alejandro Chavez, having to drop out of the race because of injuries.
“Around mile two, my hamstring got really tight, which caused me to drop out of the race,” Maciel said. “Though it is disappointing, it doesn’t discourage me from trying for finals and then on state.”
Other teams gave great feedback regarding the live music, as well as the gifts that the runners were able to take home, Longyear said.
“The college hasn’t hosted a race since 2006 so, we are a little rusty but overall, I think we did a good job,” Longyear said.
The 2017 WSC Finals will be at 1 p.m Oct. 20 at the Tour de Cuesta Fairbanks Cross Country Course in San Luis Obispo.
