(Norwalk, CA) The Mt. SAC Men's Cross Country Team placed four runners in the top ten, which included a first-place finish by sophomore Salvador Capetillo, and took home their sixth South Coast Conference Championship in a row on Friday October 26 at Cerritos Regional Park.
The championship was the 20th for Mt. SAC.
The Mounties, ranked No. 1 in the state by the 5CTCA, finished in first, fifth, ninth and tenth and the fifth runner was right behind them in twelfth.
The Mt. SAC runners, who averaged 20:21 seconds, totaled 37 points, while El Camino who was second with 45 and L.A. Harbor a distant third with 68. Ninety two runners from eight community colleges entered the race.
Capetillo, who won his fourth race of the season and is was selected to the All-SCC first team, beat his competition by 17 seconds for a time of 19:48.1. He was the only runner to break the 20-minute mark.
The three others who were in the top ten were All-SCC, first-team runner Jose Melchor, 5th (20:15), Luis Huerta, 9th (20:32.4) and Chris Weiland, 10th (20:36).
The final runner scoring points for the Mounties was Julian Serano in 12th, with a time of 20:38.2. The sixth and seventh-place finishers were Ralph Mendoza (20:49.4) and Vincent Orta (20:51.3), respectively.
Other Mountie finishers:
- Isaiah Wilson, 19th (20:57.3)
- Joseluis Pluma, 25th (21:27.8)
- Tommy Ly, 27th (21:34.2)
- Bryce Butler, 29th (21:46.7)
- Kurt Kaihara, 31st (21:58.3)
- Andrew Clements, 34th (22:06.4)
- Kevin Reed, 42nd (22:23.1)
- Julian Cabrera, 46th (22:27.9)
- Freddy Montes, 49th (22:42.1)
- David Gasper, 51st (22:53.2)
- Isaac Abdala, 52nd (22:55.2)
- Ricardo Vega, 59th (23:09)
- Joseph Torres, 61st (23:13.7)
- Angel Esqueda, 77th (24:48)
- Marcos Cuaya, 92nd (31:28.6)
The Mountie runners will aim for their third title in the last four years this Friday in the CCCAA Southern California Regional Championship at the Cerritos Regional Park in Norwalk.
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For additional information, please contact the Mt. SAC Sports Information Office at 909.274.4630.