Appeal Lifts Glendale Cross-Country Team to 4th in State

The Glendale College men’s cross-country team has been moved from sixth to fourth in the final standings of last month’s state junior college championships after the reinstatement of Juan Hernandez after an appeal by the school.

Hernandez, a freshman from Taft High, originally finished 42nd in the Nov. 20 meet at Fresno’s Woodward Park, but he, teammate Gilbert Roca (82nd) and Orange Coast’s Robert Ho (41st) were disqualified for allegedly cutting inside some cones marking the four-mile course.

Hernandez’s disqualification cost Glendale 38 points in the team standings as he was the Vaqueros’ No. 4 runner with Eric Seaone (48th) its fifth.

Without Hernandez, Glendale totaled 216 points as Seaone became the team’s fourth runner and Adrian Baca (93rd) its fifth.

With Hernandez reinstated, Glendale has 178 points. Cuyamaca (62 points), Mt. San Antonio (99) and Riverside (134) remain first, second and third with Diablo Valley (190) and El Camino (217) moving back a spot to fifth and sixth.

Orange Coast moves from 21st to 12th as the Pirates’ total drops from 503 to 400.

“I’m glad we finally got things straightened out,” Glendale Coach Eddie Lopez said. “It’s important to the guys and to the coaches that we finished fourth instead of sixth.”