The Warriors’ cross country team ran in the middle of the pack at the SoCal Preview Invitational, placing 15th in the women’s and 16th in the men’s divisions, respectively, according to directathletics.com.
The results were not ideal, as coach Dean Lofgren reviewed their performance.
“We were kind of flat on this day,” Lofgren said.
The Warriors were not handed an easy task however, as they competed with top programs ranked in the top 15 of the cccaasports.org list.
Every team from Southern California ran the course, which will host the Regional Championships in November.
The men fared slightly better Friday, finishing right in the middle of the 30-team field.
“We got out fairly quick then – instead of holding that spot and/or moving-up, slowly drifted back in the race as a pack,” Lofgren said.
Freshman Solomon Kanehailua was EC’s top finisher, placing 44th overall with a 22:23 time.
Kanehailua was followed by David Hodges (69th, 22:44), Chance Weston (88th, 23:02), Michael Moody (115th, 23:32), and Jacob Helfgott (123rd, 23:43), according to results from directathletics.com.
The strong field may have contributed to the team tiring towards the end of the race.
“At the half-way point, the guys’ faces looked like they were just trying to hold on,” Lofgren said.
The women’s team may have had it rough, but had a good performance at the top.
For the second meet in a row, Hannah Griffie led the Warriors, placing 50th in the deep field with a 21:07 time, according to results from directathletics.com.
She was followed by Xiomara Perkins (85th, 22:07), Judith Torres (89th, 22:11), Jaquelin Rodriguez (95th, 22:26), and Jennifer Villarreal (111th, 22:59), according to results from directathletics.com.
Villarreal had been dealing with “stomach distress,” while Perkins has had to adjust to the longer distances of cross country as opposed to running track, according to Lofgren.
“We aren’t panicking, but rather feeling confident that we are much, much better on any given day and will continue to get better as the season progresses,” Lofgren said.
The third meet of the season is up next for the Warriors, the Golden West Invitational in Huntington Beach on Friday, Sept. 25.
