(Irvine, CA) Mt. SAC Women's Cross Country runner Rebecca Ruiz captured her second title this season with a first place finish in the Brubaker Invitational 5K run at Irvine Regional Park on Friday October 5.
Ruiz also finished first at the Fresno Invitational in the second race of the season.
As a team, the Mounties (46 points) came oh so close to their first invitational championship this season, finishing second, just five points behind first-place Saddleback College (41).
San Bernardino Valley (76), Orange Coast (121) and Palomar (165) round out the top five finishers.
Mt. SAC, which is ranked second in the state behind Glendale in the latest poll (Sept. 25) by the 5CTCA, placed three runners in the top 10, which includes Ruiz, 1st, (19:08.7), Sadie Encinas, 6th (19:50.5) and Montserrath Celis, 8th (20:00.7).
"The Women's state title is going to be a very close race this year," Mt. SAC Women's Cross Country coach Daniel Ozan said. "Pack running will be very important during the championship season."
"These ladies understand and have improved tremendously since the beginning of the year. They were a bit more aggressive (Friday), which was awesome to see. Rebecca (Ruiz) continues to lead the women's team and is a positive influence to them. She had another strong showing (Friday) and is gearing up for another great championship run."
The fourth and fifth-place Mountie runners, who gained points, were Alyssa Amendariz, 15th (20:24.5) and Alyssa Cantrell, 16th (20:27.7), respectively.
Mt SAC entered 10 runners in the field of 97 runners.
Other Mounties finishing order, time:
- Andrea Diaz, 20th (20:44.5)
- Evelyn Peralta, 23rd (21:09.5)
- Yesenia Flores, 26th (21:21.1)
- Melanie Esquivel, 58th (23:02.3)
- Jessica Salinas-Mojarro, 68th (24:00.6
The Mounties runners will next turn their sights to the 71st Brooks/Mt. SAC Cross Country Invitational on October 12 and 19-20. It is the largest in the world with over 10,000 runners representing elementary/middle school, high school and community college.
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For additional information, please contact the Mt. SAC Sports Information Office at 909.274.4630.