Pirate women take runner-up at OEC Championships
HUNTINGTON BEACH -- In a neck-and-neck battle between the top three teams, the Orange Coast College women's cross country team earned an impressive second-place finish at the 2024 Orange Empire Conference Cross Country Championships on Friday at Central Park.
With four top-10 finishes in the field, the Pirates finished with 41 points, just one point behind first-place Saddleback (40) and one point ahead of third-place Riverside (42).
Sophomore Liberty Miller, after running a 19:11 the last time she tackled this 5,000-meter course, finished runner-up in the conference with a time of 18 minutes, 46.78 seconds, nearly 25 seconds better than before.
Fellow Pirate, Luna Centeno finished fifth overall with a 20:16.40, while Belle Baker (8th, 21:02.31) and Mariana Hernandez (9th, 21:03.67) earned top-10 times. Maloni Hernandez placed 20th overall with a time of 22:54.77.
The solid performance earned the Pirates a spot at the Southern California Regional Championships, which is set for Friday at 10 a.m. at Chaffey College.
