Glendale women’s cross-country caps ‘amazing’ run with state title

There was no letdown, no hiccups or speed bumps.

No, there was simply utter dominance from the Glendale Community College women’s cross-country team as it won its second straight California Community College Athletic Assn. championship.

En route to winning the program’s eighth state title and fifth under coach Eddie Lopez, Glendale was led by the top-four finishes of Leana Setian and Giselle Masedo to roll to a 42-107 win over second-place Sequoias on Saturday morning at Woodwark Park in Fresno.

“It feels really amazing,” Setian said. “All the girls did really well. We did amazing as a team.”

While the women of Glendale ran to a second consecutive victory, it was also an excellent day for the Vaqueros’ men’s team, which took second, turning in the program’s most successful state finish since 2005.

“We just felt really good about today,” said Burroughs High product Shane Thompson, who paced Glendale with an eighth-place finish. “We went in with a lot of confidence, but still humble.”

GCC finished second with 112 points, as Riverside ran to a strong victory with 88 points. The Vaqueros edged third-place Mt. San Antonio College (120 points) and fourth-place Cuyamaca (123). Cuesta sophomore Sean McDermott won the men’s four-mile race in 20 minutes 6 seconds.

Cuesta also claimed the women’s individual title, as Miranda Daschian won in 17:52.7 on the women’s 3.1-mile course.

But the day very much belonged to the Glendale women’s team, which won dominantly to conclude a thoroughly magnificent season. Indeed, the prevailing theme seemed to be one of amazement.

“This season has been absolutely amazing,” Setian said. “I really want to thank Lopez, along with the coaches and trainers for everything they’ve done for us.”

Added Masedo: “I feel absolutely amazing. … It’s just great to see where our hard work took us.”

Glendale’s hard work and talent took it to a second straight triple crown (winning conference, regional and state titles). GCC won its 12th consecutive Western State Conference title, its third straight Southern California Regional championship and a second state crown in a row.

Making it all the more impressive and memorable, Saturday was Glendale’s 10th team victory of the season in 10 races. Thus, the Vaqueros finished their 2016 run to greatness undefeated against junior college competition.

“To be able to say we’re undefeated, not only in our region, but in the state, just feels amazing,” Masedo said.

Setian ran to a third-place finish in 18:07.6 with Masedo crossing at fourth in 18:17.4 as the sophomores led the scoring five with freshman Angelica Salas following in 11th at 18:40.6. Sophomore Fabiola Naranjo also finished inside the top 15 with a 14th-place run of 18:52.0. The last of GCC’s scoring quintet was Fiona Faulkner, as the freshman was 16th in 18:54.9.

Freshman Nona Boyajyan was right behind Faulkner in 17th place (18:55.0). Glendale’s Eileen Eckles (50th, 19:40.2) was the state champs’ No. 7 runner.

“The whole season, we wanted to stay humble, we just wanted to keep working and go out and have fun like we always do,” Setian said. “We didn’t want to settle for anything less [than a state title].”

Glendale’s men’s team, which has five state championships to its credit with the last coming in 1998, turned in its best state finish since 2012, when it also took second.

Thompson was first across the finish line for Glendale, as the sophomore took eighth in 20:33.6 as part of a cluster of runners that finished from fifth through ninth and were separated by less than two seconds.

While Thompson led the way for the Vaqueros, it was very much the squad’s pack running that fueled the phenomenal finish.

“I felt like we did really good as a team,” Thompson said. “We started a little slow and then we really caught up.”

Sophomore Alejandro Ambrossio took 20th in 20:58.4 to begin the GCC parade across the line. He was followed by freshman and Burroughs High product Justin Villagran (23rd, 21:00.04), freshman Raymond Lopez (28th, 21:06.02) and sophomore Luis Celaya (35th, 21:14.17). Ambrossio, the leader of the pack, and Celaya, GCC’s final scorer, were separated by roughly 16 seconds.

It was the conclusion of a banner season for the Vaqueros men’s team, which returned to glory in conference with a Western State Conference championship, winning its first since 2012 and 20th in program history. At the Southern California Regionals, GCC finished second, its best finish since 2005 when the team won the race. Having entered the SoCal regionals ranked fifth in Southern California, the Vaqueros’ second-place finish truly proved they were a player.

“The SoCal race really motivated us,” Thompson said. “It showed us that we could place in state.”