THE COLLEGES : COMMUNITY COLLEGE CROSS-COUNTRY / SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA REGIONAL : Rancho Santiago Leading the Pack After Victory
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COSTA MESA — Rancho Santiago established itself as a favorite for the State title by winning the Southern California men’s cross-country meet Saturday at Fairview Regional Park.
The Dons, led by a fifth-place finish from Jose Rangel, won with 73 points. Glendale (80) was second and El Camino (149) third in the 32-team field.
Eleazar Hernandez of Moorpark dominated the final mile of the four-mile race to win the individual title in 19 minutes 31 seconds. Bashir Hussain of Riverside was second in 19:42.
Rangel’s time was 19:55. Saddleback’s Adalberto Sanchez (20:05) was seventh after running in the front group for the first half of the race.
Also for Rancho Santiago: Jorge Francisco was 12th, Franky Hernandez 13th, Carlos Ramirez 18th and Victor Vigueras 25th.
Mt. San Antonio won the women’s race with 65 points, edging San Diego Mesa (72 points). Rancho Santiago was seventh with 276 points.
The individual title went to El Camino’s Maria Lopez, who covered the 5,000-meter course in 18:39. Elly Estrada of Rancho Santiago was near the front for much of the race but struggled in the final 150 meters and finished ninth.
The Orange Empire Conference championships are Friday at Central Park in Huntington Beach. The State meet will be held Nov. 11 in Fresno.
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