Last season the men’s cross-country team placed second at the South Coast Conference Championships at Cerritos Regional Park.

This year the men’s team, not only won the 4-mile course at the Venture Invite on Aug.31, but placed in the top 15.

“I wasn’t expecting to place first, I thought I would place third or fourth,” Reo Miranda, 17, undecided major, said.

Miranda said the 4-mile course was very similar to the Peninsula High School terrain and feels that was an advantage he had and why he was able to place first.

“I was very cautious through out the run, I kept all my senses on alert,” Mirandad said, “I could tell when another competitor was at a close distance.”

Reo Miranda placed first at 22:34, returning sophomores Jimi Duffin placed third at 22:43 and David Rosales placed seventh at 23:14, Dean Lofgren, coach, said.

“We were more concerned about the runners ability to compete for the first time, since most of the men’s team haven’t competed since high school,” Lofgren said.

The men know they are good and many of the freshman are accomplished young men with experience, Lofgren added.

David Rosales started the lead and Reo Miranda started at the 2 mile mark and led the meet by a mile, which normally it’s hard to close a gap like that, Lofren said.

The men’s cross-country team has been working hard to stand out from the rest, with rigorous training sessions and pushing themselves to the best of their abilities even further, Giovanna Garcia, 19, communications major said.

The women’s team placed fifth at the Ventura Invite that also took place on Aug. 31.

“We knew we had our hands full; we were competing with Antelope Valley and Mt. San Antonio College which are in the top ten teams in the state,” Lofgren said.

Nicole Sroczynski placed sixth at 20:32 and Anique Villegas placed 18th in 21:58.

“Nicole was leading the pack, she was in good competitive company; I know she will only get better as the season progresses,” Lofgren added.

Giovanna Garcia, 19, communications major, is a freshman on the women’s cross-country team who is waiting to get cleared to participate in the meets.

“Nothing comes easy, you have to work hard to get anything,” Garcia said, “This is a bigger challenge than my track and field years, having to run 40 almost 50 more miles and on three different territories is really no joke.”

The women’s cross-country team is preparing both physically and mentally for the next meet at UC Irvine on Saturday.

“The women’s team is small, it’s mostly freshman and some have no experience with cross-country,” Anique Villegas, 17, political science major, said.

The next meet is Saturday at UC Irvine at 8 a.m.