Lady Panthers Victorious at Regional Preview
October 11, 2015
For the first time since 2005, Toro Park will be the host site of the Northern California Cross Country Championship. In 2005, the men's team won the first of two consecutive regional titles with the women placing a close second for two consecutive years. It has been nine years since the last regional title for the Panther men but the women are the defending champions. On Friday, both teams ran to their rankings with the women victorious and the men placing second.
Sophomore Malena Grover has been chasing top regional runner Jenica Dodge of American River College through two previous meetings as both placed in the same order as previous encounters. Dodge was the overall winner in 18:38 with Grover second at 18:51, the closest she's had all season to Dodge. Sophomore Rachel Shimabukuro ran a lifetime best 19:25 to place fifth overall. Shimabukuro's time is the seventh best in school history. Lizette Garcia (20:01) and Yessika Mayo (20:05) also placed inside the top ten in eighth and ninth overall. The lady Panthers placed eight total runners in the top 20 with Yvette Felix (20:39), Adriana Jimenez (20:39), Maria Rodriguez (20:50) and Nancy Rodriguez (20:54). The Lady Panthers scored 35 points to win the overall title with College of the Sequoias in second with 84 points and third place American River College with 110 points.The 2015 CCCAA Northern California Regional Championship will be held on Friday, November 6. The Panthers will make their annual trip to the historic Mt. SAC Invitational, the oldest cross country race in California.
