Irvine Valley’s Sue Davis Finds Herself Off and Running Again

When Sue Davis thought about returning to college, she considered it from the academic, not athletic, point of view.

Davis had already had a collegiate career as a volleyball player at Arizona State and Cal State Long Beach in the early ‘80s.

Surprised when she discovered she had eligibility remaining, Davis decided to take another run at college sports as a member of Irvine Valley’s cross-county team.

Davis, 29, has developed into one of the top cross-country runners in Southern California and will compete today in the Orange Empire Conference finals at Rubidoux Nature Center near Riverside College’s campus.

Davis and Irvine Valley are the favorites in the women’s race, which starts at 10 a.m. The men’s race is scheduled for 10:45 a.m.

This will be the second time on the 5,000-meter course for Davis, who ran it in 19 minutes 35 seconds to finish second to Saddleback’s Denise Hertsch in the Orange Empire Conference Festival race Sept. 20. But Davis has improved her times and won the La Mirada Invitational Oct. 19.

“We have trained the whole season with the idea of having our best races now,” Davis said. “The next three weeks (conference finals, Southern California Regionals and state finals) are what we geared our training for.”

Davis was a standout volleyball player at Corona del Mar High School, where she graduated from in 1980. She played on teams that won two Southern Section titles and reached the finals four times.

She played at Arizona State for two years but left after injuring her knee. After taking a year off for rehabilitation, she played a season at Cal State Long Beach, where she graduated with a degree in exercise physiology.

Davis, who took up jogging as part of her rehabilitation, competed for one year in cross-country at Long Beach. After graduation, she began participating in biathlons.

Last summer, Davis, who works for the City of Newport Beach in parking control, decided to take some computer courses at Irvine Valley.

The college was just starting a cross-country program, with men’s and women’s teams coached by the husband-and-wife team of Bill and Julie Leach, long-time friends of Davis.

“I contacted them to see if I could train with the team,” Davis said. “I didn’t think I had any eligibility left, but I did. I’ve always liked competing, so this has been great. . . . If I was taking the place of a girl just out of high school, then I would feel terrible, but that’s just not the case.”

Men’s Cross-Country: Riverside is the favorite in today’s men’s race. The Tigers have dominated all season and took the first three spots in winning the conference’s Festival meet. Muchi Mazano of Zimbabwe won the four-mile race in 20:44. He edged teammate and fellow countryman Gray Mauhby by a second. Riverside’s other runner from Zimbabwe, Melford Homela, finished third.

Eddie Serna of Rancho Santiago was fourth in 21:15. Rancho Santiago is the only team with a chance, and a remote one at that, of challenging Riverside.

“We have the best team I’ve ever had,” Rancho Santiago Coach Al Siddons said. “But everyone is saying that this is the best year in cross-county in Southern California. There are lots of good teams.”

Football poll: With Orange Coast being knocked off by Rancho Santiago, 10-7, Saturday, Palomar (6-1) becomes the sixth team to sit atop the Southland Poll.

Pasadena (6-1) is second, Saddleback (5-1) third, Orange Coast (5-1) fourth, Moorpark (5-1) fifth, Santa Barbara (5-1) sixth, Fullerton (4-2) seventh, Los Angeles Southwestern (4-1-1) eighth, Antelope Valley (6-1) ninth and Cerritos (4-2) 10th.

In Mission Conference Central Division games at 7 p.m. Saturday: Orange Coast is at Saddleback, Golden West is at Fullerton, and Rancho Santiago is at Riverside.