Gonzales Shines, Women and Men Finish Strong at SoCal XC Preview

Marissa Gonzales Placed 12th out of 244 finishers to lead the Pirate women to a Top-10 finish at the SoCal Regional Preview at Irvine Regional Park Friday afternoon. On a challenging course that switched between grass, dirt, asphalt and gravel, Gonzales ran a personal record 19:41 for the 5k course. Ventura finished 10th overall of 32 competing teams while the men, led by Alex Ambriz, also had a strong showing with an 11th place finish as a team.

The Pirate women were without Macy Schmidt, the top finished at the Ventura Invitational, and Veronica Lavin, both unable to compete due to illness. But that did not deter the rest of the Ventura squad as Amanda Wendt (69th, 21:39, 64 team points), Kenna Perez (75th, 21:48, 70), Fabiola Gomez-Flores (84th, 21:58, 78), Tati Morales (117th, 22:44, 104), Michelle Silva (172nd, 25:19, 147), Julia Toscano (220th, 28:46, 182), and Cecilia Garcia (224th, 29:17) held their own placing 10th overall in the team battle out of 32 teams. The result was encouraging as the top 14 teams will advance to the state championships when these teams meet again in Irvine on November 4.  The California Community College Cross Country State Meet will be held November 19 in Fresno.

The Pirate men also performed well placing 11th overall, also out of 32 teams.  It was their best finish at the SoCal Preview since 2010. The men were lead for the second week in a row by the freshman Ambriz, who placed 61st out 317 runners (53 team points) in a time of 22:07 over the rugged 4-mile course. Alex was shadowed to the finish by Ronaldo Flores finishing in 62nd position (22:09, 54), a second behind Ambriz. They were joined at the finish line by David Torres (88th, 22:35, 73), Ernie Nombrano (107th, 22:50, 89), Jose Tamayo (117th, 22:56, 97), Francisco Erazo (126th, 23:04, 103), Jesse Vasquez (128th, 23:06, 105), Christian Gil (131st, 23:11), Nestor Rodriguez (154th, 23:32), and Frank Chavez (163rd, 23:42).

"The young men and women continue to compete at a higher level every week," commented head coach, Tony Veney.

"Running in a qualifying spot was one of three goals we have set for ourselves as a team this year. Now all we have to do is perform well at WSC finals next month (goal  No. 2), and return to Irvine Park, a little sharper, and ready to grab one of the 14 "Golden Tickets" for admission to State (goal No. 3)."

The Pirates get a week off to train in preparation for the September 30th Western State Conference Preview hosted by Bakersfield College. The meet will be held on the Kern County soccer fields with the women starting at 1:00 pm and the men racing at 2:00 pm.