Orange Coast College

Cross Country: PIRATE WOMEN CLAIM STATE TITLE! REED GOES BACK-TO-BACK! OCC MEN CRACK TOP-THREE!

Saturday, November 22, 2008

FRESNO -- One of the most impressive careers in Orange Coast College women's cross country history came to a championship conclusion on Saturday as sophomore Crystal Reed won her second straight state crown at the 2008 California Community College State Cross Country championships, held at Woodward Park.

Reed's win was just one piece of championship hardware for the Pirates as they regained the top spot in the state by edging out Glendale 84-86 in the team standings. It's the seventh state title in eight years for the OCC women's squad.

After an incorrect route cost her the Southern California title, Reed (pictured left) would not be denied on Saturday, blistering the 5K course with a winning time of 17 minutes, 35.11 seconds. No other runner finished under 18 minutes as runner-up Christine Cortez of Mt. San Antonio came in at 18:06.91.

Reed's teammate, Cassie Mitchell finished third at 18:08.36, giving the Pirates a valuable advantage against Vaqueros' strong squad. Glendale's top-two runners, including last year's runner-up Katie Dunn, finished fifth and ninth, respectively, giving the Pirates a point advantage they would not relinquish.

Kimone Hewitt (25th, 19:02.85), Andrea Guerra (31st, 19:11.9) and Janina Emery (33rd 19:15.76) rounded out the Pirate scorers as they managed to finish close enough to their Vaquero counterparts to keep their early point lead.

Other solid OCC times include Alexandra DeAvila (19:41.51) and Margaret McDuffee (19:47.96).

On the men's side a fantastic 2008 season reached its conclusion and the Pirates ended strongly, placing third overall with 147 points, behind San Bernardino Valley (50 points) and San Diego Mesa (77).

The Pirates were led by standout Russell Westphal (pictured right), who finished 16th on the four-mile course with a time of 20:51.96. Teammates Luis Gallardo (33rd, 21:07.82), Sergio Olivarrias (21:10.16) and Pedro Saucedo (21:15.54) completed the scoring for the Pirates, while other quality times were posted by Raul Torres (21:26.4) and Weston Hall (22:34.45).