9/4/21

If taking a year off from competitive running wasn't hard enough, imagine doing it against the top NCAA Division 1 school in the nation, sprinkle in a little bit of elevation (7000 ft to be exact) and that leaves you with one challenging race.  This is what the Central Arizona College Cross Country Teams had to compete with on a pleasant 80 degree day in Flagstaff, AZ.  Although CAC didn't field a team on the women's (only 4 completed) and sat out 3 of their top 7 in the mens (coaches decision) there were still some solid performances from the men and women.

The Vaqueros were led by Daivin Soto (Soph) who ran the grueling 4.5 mile race in 24:56 slightly edging out fellow teammate Kyle Partin (25:17) for top honors among Vaqueros.  Two freshman, Alazar Gethahun and Joseph Meagher, experienced their first college race in impressive fashion by holding their own against some older competition.  "I'm delighted to see Alazar and Joseph do well today, both are aiming for a top 7 spot on the team and really improved their chances by their performances today"  Stated Head Coach Jon Harmon.

The Vaqueras were undermanned today but still had a few solo performances that stood out, with the ladies being led by Ariz Duarte (Soph) with a time of 18.50 on the 2.6 mile course.  Within a second of Ariz, came Lisbet Porras (18.51) and Jaedyn Brown (19.17).  "Lisbet and Jaedyn really ran well today, they are starting to grow as runners and coming into the sport of cross country quite nicely" Stated Harmon.  "This meet was good for the freshman to experience a college race against some tough competition like NAU and also for the sophomores to get some times on paper since our season was canceled last year" Harmon replied. 

Mesa Community College was the top Men's and Women's team from the ACCAC on Saturday.  "Kudos to Mesa and Coach Pescador, they ran well today and will be in contention for the D2 championship" Reiterated Harmon.  The Vaqueros and Vaqueras will be back in action on 9/18 at the UC Riverside Invitational where CAC will run it's full squad and aim to put its mark on the national scene against some great NCAA D1 programs. 

Vaqueras prepping for start of the George Kyte Classic.