Third Not a Charm for Glendale

The Glendale College men’s cross-country team extended its string of top-three finishes in the state junior college championships at Woodward Park on Saturday, but the Vaqueros fell short of their goal.

Glendale was trying to win its third men’s championship in six years, but the Vaqueros finished third for the second consecutive year.

San Diego Mesa won with 58 points to cap an undefeated season and claim its first state title since 1964.

Mt. San Antonio was second with 111, followed by Glendale with 115, Sequoias with 136 and Pasadena with 167.

Glendale has finished among the top three teams in the state championships in four consecutive years and in six of the last seven.

The Vaqueros were a distant second behind Mesa in the Southern California championships at Del Mar Racetrack on Nov. 4, but Coach Eddie Lopez figured things might be different in Fresno.

They weren’t.

“I thought we did a good job in the first mile,” Lopez said. “We didn’t let [Mesa] get away from us at the start like we did at [the Southern California championships]. But they were just too strong. They deserved to win.”

Mesa’s Ryan Moorcroft, who won the Southern California title, placed second in 20:12 with teammates Sean Ricketts fourth in 20:33 and Mohamed Aden 10th in 20:47.

Alejandro Lemus of Glendale placed 12th in 20:50, with teammates Ivan Alvarado 17th in 21:00 and Marco Arriaga 23rd in 21:08.

Mario Macias of Sequoias won the race in 20:11 and Brian Spangenberg of Canyons was 13th in 20:50.

Jody Hay of Moorpark placed fourth in the women’s race with an 18:42 clocking over the 5,000-meter course.

Heather Shurtleff of Orange Coast placed first in 18:04, followed by Jennifer Bell of Mt. SAC in 18:28 and Bertha Ojeda of Southwestern in 18:33.

Mt. SAC won the team title with 69 points, followed by three-time defending champion Orange Coast with 116.

Glendale, led by seventh-place finisher Kim Lorimer, was seventh with 260.