9/18/21

On a crisp, 78 degree morning the men's and women's cross country teams embraced the start of the season by competing at the UCR Invitational, held at the UCR Agricultural grounds.  For most, it was their first race back in over a year due to the cancelation of many fall sports as COVID-19 spread throughout the state in Fall 2020.  For others, it was their first collegiate race facing some of the most difficult competition from mostly D1 and D2 schools from schools in California.  

"I felt like this race was a good indicator on our team and to see what we need to focus on as the year progresses.  The weather is usually a lot nicer this time of year than in Coolidge so the athletes enjoy a short reprieve from the heat" Stated Coach Jon Harmon.  The Vaqueros were led by Christian Franklin, who competed in his first 8k race as a college athlete.  Franklin toured the course in 25 minutes 44 seconds, playing in the top 90 overall.  Rounding out scoring was Davin Soto (25:50), Kyle Partin (25:56), James Fincher (26:43), and Alazar Getahun (26:45).  "The men ran well today, considering for most it was a real race outside of the state of Arizona in over a year.  Christian Franklin and Davin ran exceptionally well and will only continue to get stronger.  I'm also impressed with Alazar as he continues to come back from an injury that kept him out of competition last year in high school." Stated Harmon.  THe men placed 18th out of 24 teams in the invitational race.  The invitational race is a step above the open race in terms of competition, making the field a lot more difficult to score.  

45 minutes later, it was the Vaqueras opportunity to test their grit on the 5k course at UCR.  The women were led by Sophomore Ariz Duarte, who covered the course in a new PR of 18:54.  Rounding out scoring was Beatrice Keditukei (19:29), Makena Thornton (19:32), Anette Carrasco Cota (20:10) and Jaedyn Brown (20:19).  "The ladies impressed me today, we had some huge PR's from most of the team.  Ariz, Makena, and Jaedyn all ran phenomenal and are starting to believe in what they can do in regards to running.  Once we have some girls shorten the gap from our 1st to 7th we will be ready to challenge many teams nationally." Said Harmon.  The Vaqueras placed 12th out of 14 teams in the open race.  The Invitational race ran 6k as opposed to a 5k, since most D1 schools will race that distance in championship season.  

THe Vaqueros and Vaqueras will be back in action on 10/1/21 at the ACCAC Conference Championships hosted by Paradise Valley Community College.  They will compete against all teams in the conference for the championship title.