Toro Park Short Course Invitational September 4, 2009

Hartnell College cross country started the season with wins in both the men's and women's divisions at the Toro Park Short Course Challenge. Shorter versions of the traditional courses at Toro Park were run as an early season test. The women competed over a 2.4 mile version with the men tackling a 3 miles course. Several community college teams from Northern California attended as well as NAIA 4 year institution Bethany College of Scotts Valley along with Cuesta College of San Luis Obispo.



Hartnell Men team champions with 16:22 average for top 5 runners.

Daniel Tapia kicked off his final season for Hartnell with the individual win in the men's race. The former North Monterey County runner is the state's top returner having placed second overall at last fall's state championship. Tapia will look to become Hartnell's first ever individual state cross country champion this season. Easing away in the final mile , Tapia stopped the clockat 15:31 winning by 29 seconds over a competitor from Modesto Junior College. Helping lock up the team victory were Manuel Esparza (4th 16:04), Jesus Cabrera (7th 16:21), Rigo Vasquez (8th 16:49), and Robert Anderson (13th 17:02). The Panthers tallied 32 points for the win with Modesto second at 41 points. Cuesta came in third with 54 points, and West Valley fourth at 83 points. Bethany College, Merritt College, and San Jose City College all fielded non-scoring teams.

Next up for the Panthers is the Fresno Invitational next Saturday. The Fresno Invitational attracts many of the best teams across the state and will provide a state championships preview of the course at Woodward Park.