Cross Country teams begin season in Ventura
Cross-country season officially started for SMC this past Friday, September 2nd with the Ventura Invitational that took place at Arroyo Verde Park. Freshman Nick Alvarez was the standout runner and finished 40th place with an average mile of 5:54 and a time of 23:37.83.
Alvarez received a score of 34 and was able to improve his prior time at this race by almost a minute.
On the women’s team, the best finisher was sophomore Jamillet Maldonado who placed in 16th position with an average mile of 6:47 and a time of 21:06.23.
She received a score of 15.
Overall, both teams finished in 8th place.
Eric Barron, the head coach who has been coaching the women’s team for the past 12 years and the men’s for past two years, is very confident about the upcoming season.
Training occurs all year round with the competitive season taking place during the fall.
“We had a good summer of training," Barron said. "On the men’s side we have good depth.”
Most of the training for both teams is carried out off campus with the main grounds being the grass median of San Vicente Boulevard, Will Rogers State Park, and the hill on 21st Street.
Last year the women’s team qualified for the Southern California Regional Championship.
Barron is looking forward to the next race on September 17 taking place at the Orange Coast Invitational, and mentioned that there were several key athletes who were unable to participate in the first race.
“By our second race we should have full squads and be able to improve our teams’ positions,” Barron said. “Our goal for both teams is to have them qualify for the Regional Championship.”