Pirates stake claim to SoCal Regional Title
SANTA CLARITA -- Showing the trademark depth that has been the trademark of this program, the Orange Coast College women's cross country team took home the 2013 Southern California Regional title after another dominating performance on Friday at Santa Clarita's Central Park.
With all five point-scoring runners cracking the top-25, the Pirates dominated the competition and won the meet with 58 points. Glendale (140 points) finished a distant second, while Mt. San Antonio (161), L.A. Trade Tech (155) and Fullerton (218) completed the top-five.
It's the second consecutive SoCal Regional title for the Pirates after winning on their home course in 2012.
Once again, the Pirate sophomore duo of Karen Silvas and Leanne Allen led the way on the 5K course. Silvas finished fifth overall with a time of 19 minutes, 0.8 seconds, while Allen wasn't too far behind, crossing the finish line sixth at 19:05.1.
Fellow sophomore Raeanna Cortez finished 10th at 19:20.9, while Guadalupe Cantoran placed 14th (19:33.9) and Allison Nagel placed 25th (19:50.3), putting a total of four OCC runners inside the top-14, for All-Southern California honors.
Other top finishes for the Pirates included Mariah Chapin (20:36.6) and Kristie Son (21:21.2).
The Pirates will look to successfully defend their state title on Saturday, Nov. 23 at the 2013 California Community College Athletic Association State Meet, which will take place at Fresno's Woodward Park. Coast will be looking for its eighth state title since 2001 and the 16th women's cross country state title in school history.
