Men’s and Women’s Cross Country Qualify for State Championships

RANCHO CUCAMONGA, Calif. --- The men's and women's El Camino College cross country teams both qualified for the 3C2A State Championships thanks to solid showings at the 3C2A Southern California Finals on Friday hosted by Chaffey.

On the men's side, the men finished in a comfortable eighth place to easily fall into the 16 teams that qualified for the upcoming state championships. The Warriors tallied 224 points on the day with San Diego Mesa winning the meet with 35 points. Mount San Antonio finished second with 93 points and San Bernardino Valley placed third with 121 points.

For the Warriors, Aaron Cohen recorded the best finish for the team, crossing the line in 16th place with a time of 21:15.6. Alan Canales was close behind in 20th place with a time of 21:18.9. Angel Yanez (53rd, 22:13.6), Ty McCormick (70th, 22:25.9), and Aiden Nakai (78th, 22:40.7) rounded out the Warriors top scorers. Bradley Barbosa (94th, 23:07.6) and Juan Avellana (112th, 23:28.1) capped the Warriors runners at the event.

On the women's side, the Warriors qualified just under the number, finishing 15th overall with 16 teams advancing to the state championships. The Warriors finished with 346 points with San Diego Mesa taking the overall title with 54 points, the only team to record a score under triple digits.

Sophomore Elaine Dugmore placed 59th, leading the ECC women with her 21:45.3. Sophomore Arianna Hurtado was 69th (22:05.6) with freshman Ayla Barbosa placing 72nd (22:11.6). Emily Gutierrez (76th,22:19.9), and freshman Denise Delgado (108th, 24:02.4) rounded out the Warriors finishers. The five scoring women compiled a total team time 6:45 faster over the same course at the Oct 4th So Cal Preview  Invitational.

The Warriors will now conclude the 2024 season at the 3C2A State Championships on Saturday, Nov. 23 at Woodward Park in Fresno, Calif. The women's race will start at 10 a.m. while the men are slated to begin at 11 a.m.