Glendale Community College women’s cross-country looks for triple crown

One of the more hallowed accomplishments in all of sports is winning the triple crown.

Whether it’s in horse racing or baseball, the feat is rarely duplicated, but widely celebrated.

The Glendale Community College women’s cross-country team is on the cusp of enjoying its own version of the triple crown when it joins the men’s program for Saturday’s California Community College Athletic Assn. Cross-Country Championships at Fresno’s Woodward Park.

The women compete first on the traditional 3.1-mile course at 10 a.m., while the men follow at 11 a.m. on the four-mile path.

Glendale has won three triple crowns in its storied history, which equates to capturing the state championship, the Southern California Championships and the Western State Conference crown.

Until recently, the Vaqueros had mastered that accomplishment in alternating years, winning all three in 2007, 2009 and 2011. That trend stopped, however, in 2013 and in Glendale’s most recent try, the top-ranked Vaqueros took third in state in 2014.

“We’ve been talking about what happened in state last year for a while, the girls are aware of it,” Glendale Community College Coach Eddie Lopez said. “Hey, it’s a good lesson. We want to win the triple crown. It’s a big deal and we have a chance again.”

If there’s a key difference with this Glendale team in comparison to previous aspirants, it’s perhaps that there is no single dominant runner on this year’s squad.

“I think that’s a bonus, I really do,” Lopez said. “If one girl isn’t having a good day, the others can pick her up. We’re not overly relying on one girl to have a super effort. If everyone does what they’re supposed to do, we’ll win.”

The Vaqueros have had a week off since they blasted the competition at the Southern California Championships on Nov. 6 at San Diego’s Mission Bay Park.

That Saturday, Glendale defeated conference rival College of the Canyons, 35-115, to win the second consecutive leg of the triple crown after the program had already clinched its 11th straight conference title.

On Nov. 6, the Vaqueros had a different runner step up to the challenge in former Glendale High runner Leana Setian, who placed fourth in 19 minutes, 1.13 seconds.

As Setian paces the Vaqueros into Fresno, the irony is not lost on her.

Setian never advanced past the CIF Southern Section preliminary stage in high school as a runner who often led struggling Glendale cross-country teams and is now suddenly at the head of a potential community college state champion.

“It feels surreal; I don’t believe it’s happening,” said Setian, who never ran at Woodward Park prior to this year. “I think I’ll realize what was accomplished after this season. I’m going to stay humble, keep focused and keep doing what I’m doing.”

As for the men, they’re coming off a sixth-place effort at the SoCal Finals in which they scored 156 points in a race won by Mt. San Antonio College (82 points).

The Vaqueros have a solid one-two punch in sophomore Vahagn Isayan and freshman Shane Thompson, a Burroughs High grad.

Isayan was fourth at the SoCal Finals in 21:04.35, while Thompson took 10th in 21:04.35.

“We’re really good at one and two, it’s after that that I’m worried,” Lopez said. “I really think we should have done better at SoCal, but we didn’t have the type of efforts we needed.”

As for his Saturday prediction, Lopez has a lofty goal for his Vaqueros.

“Hey, honestly, I think they can finish third,” Lopez said. “We need to pick it up third through sixth, but that’s not out of the question. They can have a big day, too.”

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Andrew J. Campa, andrew.campa@latimes.com

Twitter: @campadresports