State Junior College Races Marked by Larger Fields

Bigger is better.

At least that’s what coaches are hoping when the state junior college cross-country championships are held today at Fresno’s Woodward Park. The women’s race will begin at 10 a.m., the men’s at 11.

In previous years, the fields for the men’s and women’s races at the state championships were limited to 10 teams and a maximum of 30 individuals not on a qualifying team.

But today’s meet will include 28 teams and as many as 60 individuals not on a qualifying team in each race.

“A team’s fifth runner will really be crucial this year,” Antelope Valley Coach Mark Covert said. “If your fifth runner performs poorly, you’re going to be in trouble.”

That was not always the case with smaller fields.

Long Beach City, for example, edged Mt. San Antonio, 66-71, for the 1990 men’s title by placing four runners in the top 13.

Although the Vikings’ No. 5 runner finished 66th, 1 minute 18 seconds behind their No. 4 runner, it did not hurt them that much because of the relatively small field. If the field had been as large as this year’s, Long Beach probably would have finished no better than third.

Riverside, the defending champion, and Irvine Valley are favored to win the men’s and women’s titles, respectively.

Riverside, with its contingent of Zimbabwean, Ethiopian and Moroccan athletes, is expected to become the first team to sweep the top five places in the state championships and record a perfect score of 15 points.

El Camino and Mt. SAC are expected to battle for the runner-up place and several teams, including Western State Conference champion Glendale, Ventura and Antelope Valley, are expected to contend for a top-five finish.

Glendale freshman Jacques Sallberg won the WSC title handily last week and appears capable of a top-10 finish.

Other top area individuals include Ventura sophomore Jorge Barajas and Antelope Valley freshman Mark Sinderson.

Long Beach and defending champion Mt. SAC are expected to be Irvine Valley’s closest challengers in the women’s race, but Covert thinks Antelope Valley is capable of a top-three finish.