Riverside Claims Dual OEC Cross Country Title

Women's Results · Men's Results

MEN:

For the eighth time in the last 10 years, the Riverside City College men's cross-country team hauled in the Orange Empire Conference (OEC) title. They had seven runners finish in the top 10 leading to the victory.

The Tigers saw eight runners land in the top-14 to earn All-Conference honors highlighted by a first-place finish from sophomore Gavyn Condit.

Condit paced the pack and landed first overall with an overall mark of 19:58.91. He was the only runner to finish under a 20-minute time and defeated the second place finisher by nearly 30 seconds.

"It feels pretty good to be the champion," said Condit at race's end. "I went in pretty confident knowing that I could win. Once I hit the flat ground, I really took off and left the remainder of the field."

Condit spoke early in the season about where he expects the team to be after the Redlands Invitational in early September leading up to the OEC Championship meet. His plan came to fruition.

"I am happy the season is going how it is. My coach and I had a plan leading up to the race and it went exactly as planned."

Condit has been a consistent podium finisher this season and proved his consistency by adding another top finish to his 2022 resume. His growth from his first year to his sophomore year has seen drastic improvements and he has no plans of slowing down.

"When I started freshman year, I did not have the confidence I have now. No when I get into the race, I have the confident feeling and I know what I want to do. The coaches have helped me build that confidence."

Condit is the third OEC Male Runner of the Year in the last four years as he joins the likes of Enrique Villa '17, '18 and Able Ramos '19.

Finishing in third place was sophomore Kyle Reden who had not had a podium finish throughout his entire 2022 season. He crossed the line with a mark of 20:38.44 to haul in the bronze and First-Team All-Conference recognition.

Sophomore Raen Reyes placed sixth overall with a time of 20:47.44 to earn First-Team All-Conference recognition, while freshman Ernesto Ruiz placed seventh overall with a clip of 20:49.87 to slide into the final slot for First-Team All-Conference accolades.

Sophomore Salvador Avila placed eighth overall with a mark of 20:50.19, while sophomore David Rush followed in ninth place with a time of 20:58.08. Sophomore duo Vincent Navarro (10^th place – 20:59.71) and Nicandro Rosas (11^th place – 21:05.17) rounded out the top finishers for Riverside to earned Second-Team All-Conference honors.

Women:

Four runners placed in the top-14 to earn Orange Empire Conference (OEC) All-Conference recognition highlighted by a second place finish by sophomore Elani Huntley leading to the team's second-consecutive championship.

Last season, the Tigers earned the "Perfect 15" score and followed up with another impressive showing to add to their trophy case.

Huntley was the second-best finisher by crossing the line at 19:45.60 to earn the silver medal.

"I came out her wanting to run a faster time from the last time we ran at the course and I was able to accomplish that so I am very happy," said Huntley. "I am looking forward to the next meet and the meet after that to keep improving. I feel pretty good about that."

Huntley has paced the Tigers all season and continued to do so when the lights shined the brightest. Postseason meets are looming in the distance and she has a plan to keep performing at a high level.

"I feel like I am definitely in a better place then I was last season, so I am just trying to go in strong like I always do."

Huntley, a two-year runner for the Tigers, has meant a lot to the program. She continues to set the standard of excellence on and off the running surface for Riverside.

"I love this team and I love this program," said Huntley with a smile. "I love the coaches and they always have a positive mindset. I think that has helped me a lot to get to where I am."