Published on November 19, 2009
The Oxnard College men’s and women’s cross-country teams earned a berth in the state championships, set to be held on Nov. 21.
The Condors’ women’s team finished 14th overall as a team in the Southern California State Championships at Mt. Sac on Nov. 7.
Cynthia Navarro led the womenl, finishing 14th with a time of 18:52.0, and earned a championship medal in the process. Teammate Liz Robles followed right behind her, finishing 47th, with a time of 19:59.0.
Gene Sharp, women’s cross-country head coach, believed that both the men’s and women’s strong work ethic and commitment to success helped them qualify for state championships.
“I believe that both the men’s and women’s success was driven by hard work, dedication, and perseverance by the key members of these teams, and I am very proud of their progress,” Sharp said in an e-mail.
Sharp also mentioned how qualifying for state made a strong statement about how far this program has come.
“This is only the third time in my 12-year tenure that both teams qualified for the state championship,” he said. “I think this states that OC cross country is alive and well.”
The men’s team followed suit in the State Championships, finishing 12th overall. Isidore Herrera led the men, finishing 24th with a time of 21:31.0, and Caser Lopez followed, finishing 40th with a time of 21:57.0.
Despite the team qualifying for state, Sharp would like to see the team improve the times they had at Championships, as wanting to see strong performances from Navarro, as well as from Herrera on the men’s side.
“I would like to see our teams improve above their So Cal performances, and individually I hope to see Isidore Herrera and Cynthia Navarro finish in the top 14, earning All-State Honors.”