COLLEGE ROUNDUP : Arreola Earns Nationals Berth by Finishing 4th

Darcy Arreola of Cal State Northridge, a three-time NCAA Division II All-American in cross-country, will now get a chance to earn All-American honors at the Division I level.

She saw to that Saturday by finishing fourth in the Region 8 championships at Woodward Park in Fresno.

Arreola, the 1989 Division II cross-country champion, was timed in 16 minutes 58.2 seconds over the 5,000-meter course to qualify for the NCAA meet Nov. 19 in Knoxville, Tenn.

The top two teams in the women’s race and the top three individuals among the first 20 finishers not on a qualifying team advance to the national championships.

Arreola was the No. 2 individual qualifier because winner Buffy Rabbitt (16:44.6) of UC Irvine and third-place Liz Wilson (16:50.2) of Oregon were members of qualifying teams.

Oregon placed first with 49 points, followed by Irvine (50), UCLA (109) and Washington (110). Northridge was 10th with 261 points.

“This still wasn’t (Darcy’s) best race,” Northridge Coach Don Strametz said. “But it was her best race of the season. Hopefully, she can pop a really good one at nationals.”

Derik Vett placed 15th in the men’s race as Northridge finished 12th in a 12-team field.

Vett ran 31:33.8 over the 10,000-meter course as Northridge totaled 300 points.

Arizona, the sixth-ranked team in the country, finished first with 50 points, followed by Washington (59) and No. 5 Oregon (61). The top three men’s teams advance to the NCAA meet.

Vett, who finished 22 seconds behind the third individual qualifier (Mitchell Sloan of USC) from the region, ran conservatively in the first part of the race, then moved up in the pack. He was in 35th place at the two-mile mark but 18th at four miles.

“It was the best collegiate race of Derik’s career,” Strametz said. “A top-20 finish was our goal at the start of the season and we achieved that.”

Erick McBride and Martha Segura were the No. 2 runners for Northridge’s teams.

McBride placed 72nd (34:06) in the men’s race and Segura finished 55th (18:36.8) for the women.

MEN’S BASKETBALL

Rancho Santiago 106, Canyons 88--Dan Murphy paced host Canyons with 21 points against the defending state champion in the opener for both teams.

Moorpark 90, Mt. SAC 78--Sam Crawford and Damion Wilson led all scorers with 26 points each to lead Moorpark’s victory against Mt. San Antonio College in the championship game of the Mt. SAC tournament in Walnut.

Moorpark led, 46-32, at halftime. Crawford, who handed out 13 assists against Mt. SAC (1-1), and Wilson both made the all-tournament team for Moorpark (2-0).

Oxnard 72, L.A. Trade Tech 55-- Guard Shaun Talley scored 17 points and backcourt mate Don Mitchell added 16 to lead Oxnard in a nonconference game at Santa Clara High. Mitchell scored 14 points in the second half.