Strong showing for Pirates in season-opening meet
FULLERTON -- The Orange Coast College men's cross country team opened the 2014 season strong with an impressive performance at the Mark Covert Classic, held at Cal State Fullerton on Saturday.
Sophomore Brandon Ferguson complete the 8K course as the fastest school-sponsored runner in the Open Race, clocking in with a time of 26 minutes, 27.9 seconds. Only unattached runner Nick Kelley edged out Ferguson for the top spot with a time of 26:27.1.
OCC teammate Lucio Ramirez finished fourth with a 26:41.8, while Jesus Valdez took 12th overall with a 27:16.2.
Those three top-20 performances helped give the Pirates a team score of 61, which tied Glendale College for the top spot among community colleges. Cerritos was third with 94 points.
Other impressive times for the Pirates on Saturday include Ryan Ogan (28:17.2), Efrain Vargas (28:52.7), Gonzalo Vazquez (28:57.3), Chad Braiden (29:43.5), Hunter Durand (30:05), Daniel Vargas (30:31.9) and Dakota Gamble (30:57.4).
On the women's side, Coast ran three runners in the women's 5K and they were Bianca Moreno (22:05.6), Jenessa Reyes (23:25.1) and Alicia Carbajal (27:43.7).
The Pirates will head up to Fresno for the Fresno Invitational on Saturday, beginning at 8 a.m.
