Pirates earn another top-five finish in 2013!
VALENCIA -- The strong performances continue for the Orange Coast College men's cross country team as the Pirates finished fifth overall at the 2013 Southern California Preview Meet, hosted by College of the Canyons on Friday.
In a matchup between some of the top teams in all of Southern California, the freshman-heavy 2013 Pirates did more than hold their own and finished fifth with 134 points. American River College -- picked by many to be the 2013 state champs -- blistered the competition with a 1-2-3-5-8 finish, good for 19 points. Cerritos College (95 points) took second, Glendale (100) finished third and Canyons (119) placed fourth.
It was four freshmen -- Jose Ortiz, Conner Garcia, Brandon Ferguson, Christopher Harlan -- and sophomore Luis Morales who earned points for the Pirates on Friday.
Ortiz overcame the 90-degree weather and finished ninth on the four-mile course with a time of 21 minutes, 35.58 seconds. Garcia also earned a top-20 spot with a 15th-place time of 22:00.89.
Ferguson finished 30th with a time of 22:26.27, Harlan claimed 33rd with a 22:32.99 and Morales cracked the top-50 with a time of 22:58.3.
Other solid times and performances for OCC include Ryan Ogan (23:04.1) and Jay Bonthius (23:58.54).
OCC will return to action on Saturday, October 5 down in San Diego for the Triton Cross Country Invitational, beginning at 8 a.m.
