JUNIOR COLLEGE CROSS-COUNTRY STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS : Glendale, Behind Nelson, Aiming for 2nd

Robert Nelson, the least renowned runner among Glendale College’s triple threat at the start of the cross-country season, will lead the Vaqueros into the state junior college championships today at Sierra College.

Nelson, a former Muir High standout, has been Glendale’s No. 1 runner in five of the Vaqueros’ seven races, including the Southern California championships last Saturday at San Diego’s Morley Field, in which he finished eighth in 20 minutes 3.6 seconds over the four-mile course.

Glendale teammates Obed Aguirre and Hugo Allan Garcia placed ninth and 13th, respectively, powering the Vaqueros into a fourth-place tie with San Diego Mesa in the team standings. The top five teams advanced to the state meet.

Nelson has run well in the state meet. In 1989, he placed eighth while competing for Pasadena City College. But the night after that meet, Nelson received news that caused him to temporarily drop out of school.

His father, Robert, had been struck and killed by an automobile as he crossed a street the day before the state meet.

Nelson’s family kept the news a secret until after the meet, but Nelson said he “sensed something was wrong” when he talked to his family on the phone the night before.

“No one was laughing like usual,” he said.

A full-blooded Navajo, Nelson lived with his mother and relatives in Page, Ariz., for the next eight months before returning to Pasadena in the summer of 1990.

Upon his return, he called a surprised Eddie Lopez, the Glendale men’s coach, and inquired about running for the Vaqueros.

The call could not have come at a better time for Lopez, who had just found out that one of his top runners, James Moore, was transferring to Pasadena City.

“I was very surprised when he called, but I was also happy to hear from him,” Lopez said. “I had just learned that we were losing one guy, and in comes Robert.”

State junior college rules required Nelson to sit out last cross-country season and complete 12 units of classes at Glendale before he could be eligible to compete. Because Nelson completed only 11 units last fall, he was not eligible to run for Glendale last track season.

But the wait has been worth it for Lopez.

With Nelson, defending state champion Garcia and Aguirre--seventh in last year’s state meet--leading the way, Glendale has a triple threat second only to Riverside’s Zimbabwean foursome of Passmore Furusa, Muchaipwa Mazano, Gray Mavhera and Melford Homela, who swept the first four places in last week’s regional.

“Riverside is untouchable,” Lopez said of the race for the men’s team title. “But we feel like we can finish second if we run well. The main thing is for our front three to improve upon last week’s performances.”

Nelson intends to.

“I want to finish in the top five,” Nelson said. “That won’t be easy, but I think I can do it if I push it to the limit. I just want to try and hang with the Riverside guys for as long as possible, then see what happens.”

Jean Harvey of Antelope Valley is favored to win the women’s race after winning last week’s 5,000-meter regional race by nearly 31 seconds. Harvey’s toughest competition is expected to come from Marisol Cossio of L. A. City, Suzanne Castruita of Mt. San Antonio and Grace Padilla of Glendale, who finished second, third and fourth, respectively, in last week’s Southern California meet.

Jennifer Cleary of Foothill, the Northern California champion, is considered a longshot.

Moorpark, led by Deana Fuess, is expected to contend for a top-five finish in the women’s team race.

Padilla, the third-place finisher in the 1,500 in the state track championships in May, is the runner Antelope Valley Coach Mark Covert fears most.

“Last week throws (Harvey) into the role of favorite,” Covert said. “But we’re waiting and anticipating the big battle from either Gracie, Cossio or Castruita. . . . I won’t feel good about winning until Jean comes out of the woods with a half-mile to go and no one is near her. Then I’ll say, ‘We’ve got it. We did it again.’ ”