Del Toro wins Aztec Invitational
GLENDALE — The following are updates on area athletes at the collegiate level.
Rosa Del Toro (Glendale Community College, 2010) Long Beach State junior cross-country runner: Making her official debut for Long Beach State on Saturday, Del Toro dazzled to the tune of a first-place finish at the 66th annual Aztec Invitational at Balboa Park in San Diego.
In the women’s 5,000-meter invite, Del Toro finished in 18 minutes 2.3 seconds, more than three seconds in front of the second-place finisher and nearly 12 seconds in front of the third-place runner.
Del Toro’s efforts led Long Beach State to a second-place effort of 61 points, just behind Brigham Young’s tally of 55.
Del Toro, a member of last season’s Glendale Community College state cross-country champion, is on quite a run of individual success.
In the spring, her last race for GCC saw her win an individual state title in the 1,500, and on Sept. 4, running unattached at the Fullerton Season Opener, she finished fifth overall.
Del Toro looks to continue her good fortune against likely the toughest field LBSU has seen all season, on Saturday at the Stanford Invitational.
Nina Moore (Glendale Community College, 2010) Long Beach State sophomore cross-country runner: The reigning state individual champion at the junior college level, the former Vaqueros standout is doing very well at the next level.
Moore, who along with fellow Glendale Community College transfer Rosa Del Toro was delayed becoming an official member of the Long Beach State squad due to paperwork snafus, made her official LBSU debut and took second behind Del Toro at the Aztec Invitational in San Diego on Saturday.
Moore finished in 18:05.6, helping Long Beach to a second-place team finish in the meet.
It was Moore’s second race of the season after finishing sixth at the Fullerton Season Opener on Sept. 4.
Next up for Moore and Long Beach will be Saturday’s Stanford Invitational.
Frances Boukidis (Crescenta Valley High, 2010) Northern Illinois freshman soccer player: Last season’s Pacific League Most Valuable Player picked an opportune time to score her first collegiate goal.
On senior day of all things, the freshman tallied a goal in the 53rd minute that stood as the game-winner in a 1-0 victory over Green Bay on Sunday.
Boukidis, taking a headed pass from teammate Kelsey Passaglia, scored her first NCAA points with a header of her own. For her troubles, though, she took a fist to the eye as the opposing goalie was trying to punch away the ball.
The win improved Northern Illinois to 4-3 on the season and concluded the team’s nonconference portion of its schedule.
The Huskies begin play in the Mid-American Conference at Toledo on Friday.
Mike McDonald (Glendale Community College, 2007) Southern Oregon junior quarterback: Southern Oregon fell for the first time on Saturday, losing to Willamette, 42-24.
For McDonald, it was a mix of ups and downs, as he finished the game completing 25 of 42 passes for 349 yards with two touchdowns, but three interceptions. He was also sacked four times.
Southern Oregon (2-1) began with a 7-0 lead, but Willamette took a 35-10 lead early in the fourth quarter.
McDonald would then throw five- and nine-yard scoring passes to Danny Keenan.
Southern Oregon linebacker Kalii Robinson, also a Glendale Community College transfer, had eight tackles.
For the season, McDonald has completed 60 of 112 passes for a 54% completion percentage, having thrown eight touchdowns to eight interceptions and tallying 862 yards through the air.
Southern Oregon returns to action for its home opener against Menlo on Saturday.
Dietrich Riley (St. Francis High, 2010) UCLA freshman safety: During UCLA’s first victory of the season, a 31-13 defeat of No. 23 Houston on Saturday at home at the Rose Bowl, Riley tallied one tackle.
Playing primarily on special teams, the three-time All-Area Football Player of the Year had one tackle against Houston, and has three tackles through three games this season, including one for a loss.
The 1-2 Bruins will take to the road this week for a tall task in taking down Texas on Saturday.
Eric Kleinsasser (Crescenta Valley High, 2007) Occidental College junior cross-country runner: Making his return to the course for the first time since suffering a broken left clavicle, Kleinsasser raced at the Aztec Invitational in San Diego in the men’s 8K race.
The All-American, according to the Oxy website, fell during the race roughly 300 meters in right on his injured shoulder. Nonetheless, he bounced up and finished the race, taking 27th overall as the first Tigers runner across the finish line in 27:11.8.
The spill was reportedly just an incidental event in which Kleinsasser got his foot tangled up with another runner.
Kleinsasser will now have some time to rest up with the Tigers’ next meet scheduled for Oct. 2 at the Pomona-Pitzer Invitational.