The Orange Empire Conference will be represented by six teams and five individuals at the CCCAA cross country state championships next Saturday, November 18, at Woodward Park in Fresno. The top 14 teams to finish at the Southern California Regional Championship meet were invited to the state meet along with the top 20 individuals not on those teams.
In the women's 5K race which starts at 10:00 a.m., Riverside, Saddleback, and Orange Coast will send full teams to compete while Cassidy Nyenhuis (Fullerton), Andrea Anaya (Santa Ana), and Madison Markey (Santiago Canyon) each qualified to compete as individuals. Riverside's Sarah Hollis easily captured the Orange Empire Conference title and placed second overall at the regional championship behind Brenda Rosales of L.A. Harbor College. Hollis helped Riverside place seventh at the regional, with Saddleback close behind in eighth place while Orange Coast finished 12th overall.
In the men's 4-mile race which starts at 11:00 a.m., Riverside and Saddleback teams will be joined by Santa Ana along with Brian Grande (Fullerton) and Hector Leon (Orange Coast) running as individuals. Orange Empire Conference champion Enrique Villa placed fourth overall at the regional championship in a field of 196 runners, helping Riverside finish second as a team behind Mt. San Antonio. Eduardo Guapilla of Santa Ana placed 12th overall, helping the Dons to a ninth place team finish. Saddleback placed 11th as a team to also qualify.
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