Northern California Champions - November 7, 2009

For just the fourth time in program history and the first time for Head Coach Chris Zepeda, the Hartnell women's cross country team won the Northern California cross country team championship at the Crystal Springs cross country course in Belmont. With gutsy upfront running by freshman Ellie Herrera, breakthrough races by freshman Sused Cabrera and sophomore Jazmin Suarez, and consistent performances by Priscilla Meza, Mayra Garcia, Emilse Tapia, and Stephanie Castro, the Lady Panthers knocked off top seed and Coast Conference Champion DeAnza College 74-79. Just a week earlier, the Dons of DeAnza had defeated the Panthers by 7 points on the same course. Ellie Herrera placed fifth overall in 18:51 becoming just the sixth Hartnell female ever to dip under the 19 minute mark at Crystal Springs. Also earning top 14 All-Norcal honors was Sused Cabrera. Cabrera, a former North Salinas Viking, picked the right meet for her best performance to date stopping the clock at 19:28 and tenth overall. Cabrera was only sixth at the Coast Conference meet but was the third conference finisher in this championship meet. Jazmin Suarez (20:01), the lone sophomore on the young Panther squad, set a personal best by 16 seconds in placing nineteenth overall. Freshmen Mayra Garcia (20:09), and Priscilla Meza (20:15) sealed the victory for the Panthers. Emilse Tapia (21:24) and Stephanie Castro (21:35) rounded out the victorious team. For their efforts, Head Coach Chris Zepeda was named the 2009 Norcal Women's Coach of the Year.


The 2010 Norcal Championships will be held on the Panthers home course at Toro Park and provide a chance to win men's and women's trophies just a few miles from the Hartnell College campus.

Coast Conference Championship - October 28, 2009

Heading into the 2009 Coast Conference championship meet, the women's cross country team was a heavy underdog and would need a bit of luck to bring home a title to Salinas. Despite being ranked as the top team in Norcal, the women would be facing a very powerful trio from DeAnza College that have been working together for two years and have championship meet experience. DeAnza, the defending Coast Conference champion, had a season lead over Hartnell 2-1 with the Panthers only victory on the Crystal Springs course, the site of the yesterday's championship.

In the women's race it was evident from the start that DeAnza was ready to test the Panthers to the fullest. The Dons top three runners set a very fast tempo with Hartnell's own Ellie Herrera able to match. The Panthers strategy was to place their runners in a very specific manner to win the title and set off at their own pace. Even if DeAnza's trio placed second through fourth and Herrera the winner it would still be difficult for the The Dons to win as a team. Herrera who trailed in second place as late as two miles into the race jumped into the lead with just a little over 1000 meters left. Her lead was short lived as Jessica Paranthaman of DeAnza shot past and went for the win in the final half mile. At the finish, Paranthaman would struggle up the incline to the chute and leave a window of hope for Herrera. Despite a last second charge, Herrera would come up one second short after making up as much as five seconds in just the last 100 meters of the race. Paranthaman would be the individual winner at 19:15 with Herrera one tick behind in 19:16. DeAnza would take the third and fourth spots as expected followed by Hartnell's Priscilla Meza (19:55). DeAnza's Luisa Westley would spoil the Panthers hope of a title by finishing sixth just strides in front of Sused Cabrera (20:04) and Mayra Garcia (20:06). Sophomore Jazmin Suarez would place ninth (20:17) and finish off the Panthers team score. With DeAnza and Hartnell runners taking the top nine spots, turning the championship event into a dual meet, Hartnell had only achieved part of the equation to win and was relegated to runner-up honors just 7 points from the team title. As bittersweet rewards, all of Hartnell's top six women finishers were named All-Conference, the last being Emilse Tapia (21:00) at 13th, and recorded huge personal bests for the Crystal Springs course. Only two runners from other schools received All-Conference honors with the 12 going to either DeAnza or Hartnell demonstrating the strength of both programs. Others competing for the Panthers were Leticia Saldana (21:21), Stephanie Castro (21:52) and Emily Scettrini (22:30) with the last two setting season bests for Crystal Springs.

With the Norcal Championships to be run on the same course on November 7th, the Lady Panthers will take a shot at a top three team trophy, the last being team runner-up in 2006.

Santa Clara Bronco Invitational - October 17, 2009

The Hartnell cross country teams competed for the first time at the Santa Clara University Bronco Invitational held at Baylands Regional Park in Sunnyvale. Traditionally a four year university/college meet, the Bronco Invitational has slowly been gaining popularity with community college programs with Hartnell in attendance this year to take advantage of the strong competition.

Competing in the women's Open 5k run, the Hartnell women placed fifth overall one spot ahead of Modesto Junior College. The only programs placing higher were four year university programs Sacramento State, Cal State East Bay, San Jose State, and UC Santa Cruz. Ellie Herrera was the highest placing Panther coming in at 13th overall in 19:32. Priscilla Meza (20:04), Sused Cabrera (20:39), Jazmin Suarez (20:57), and Leticia Saldana (21:10) rounded out the scoring five. Also competing were Mayra Garcia (21:39), Emilse Tapia (21:55), Stephanie Castro (22:44), and Emily Scettrini (22:44).

The Hartnell teams will enjoy a much needed bye week as they prep for the 2009 Coast Conference Championships on Wednesday, October 28th at Crystal Springs in Belmont.

Toro Park Invitational - October 9, 2009

With just West Valley College, West Hills College, and the women of College of Sequoias in attendance, the Hartnell cross country teams enjoyed a fruitful homecoming as both squads were victorious and posted some solid marks at Toro Park.

Despite a mid-race stomach cramp, Ellie Herrera raced her way to a second place finish and Hartnell all-time list 20:15. Allison Gonzales, top ranked female individual in Northern California, was the race winner at 19:01 just missing becoming only the fifth female ever to dip under the 19:00 barrier at Toro Park. Hartnell women would take places third through seventh earning a perfect score of 15. Priscilla Meza (20:28), Leticia Saldana (20:57), Sused Cabrera (21:12), Mayra Garcia (21:14), and Jazmin Suarez (21:15) rounded out the scoring five. Also running were Emilse Tapia (22:09), Stephanie Castro (22:27), Emily Scettrini (22:44), and Liz Medina (26:05).

The Hartnell teams will compete for the first time ever in school history at the Santa Clara Bronco Invitational Saturday, October 17th. The Santa Clara Invitational attracts four year university/colleges and community collleges to a very fast course at Baylands Park in Sunnyvale. The women will compete in the open 5 kilometer race.

Crystal Springs Invitational - October 2, 2009

Heading into the Crystal Springs Invite hosted by College of San Mateo, the goal was to get familiar with the course that will serve as host for the Coast Conference and Norcal Championships in a few weeks and move a little closer to the teams ranked ahead of our Hartnell teams. What transpired after 2.95 miles of racing for the women and 4.195 miles for the men were greater results than what was expected.

Ellie Herrera, who has lead the women since the start of the season, continued to close the gap on the top women in Norcal placing seventh overall and the fifth Norcal woman here. Her time of 19:38 moves her into 12th all-time for Hartnell women. Hartnell has been competing at Crystal Springs since 1980. Priscilla Meza (20:37) was 15th, Sused Cabrera (20:42) in 18th, Mayra Garcia (20:50) at 20th, and Leticia Saldana (20:56) placed 23rd to finish off the team's score of 74. The top six women for Hartnell all produced all-time best marks for the Crystal Springs course. The Hartnell women easily outdistanced Southern California's Cerritos College, ranked 5th in their region, who tallied 92 points, previously 2nd ranked DeAnza College at 93 points, and former top Norcal team American River College with 94 points. When the new Norcal ranking come out in the coming days the Hartnell women should move into the top spot, a first since 2006. Also running well were Jazmin Suarez (21:10), Emilse Tapia (21:50), Stephanie Castro (23:19), and Emily Scettrini (23:38).

Hartnell will host the Toro Park Invitational on Friday, October 9th at Toro Park. Norcal top runner Allison Gonzales of College of Sequoias, winner of the Crystal Springs race, will travel from Visalia to take on the Panthers. The invitational will kick off with a free Fun Run at 3:00 followed by the women's race at 3:30pm and men's race at 4:15pm.

Lou Vasquez Invitational - September 24, 2009

With ideal weather conditions for the Lou Vasquez Invitational at Golden Gate Park in San Francisco, both the men's and women's cross country teams produced their best individual and team performances this season. The Lou Vasquez course is run around the Polo Fields and along the deceptively uphill John F. Kennedy Drive in San Francisco's park gem.

Ellie Herrera moved herself into all-Norcal contention in a few weeks as she placed 11th overall and 6th amongst Norcal runners. Her time of 19:40 for the 5k (3.1 miles) race established a new Hartnell school record for Golden Gate Park surpassing current assistant coach Grecia Garcia's mark of 19:42 posted in 2005. The next seven Lady Panthers all posted season best times and all-time list making marks. As a team placed 5th out of 14th teams and third amongst Norcal teams behind American River College and De Anza College. Priscilla Meza (20:30), Sused Cabrera (20:50), Leticia Saldana (20:56), Mayra Garica (21:05), Jazmin Suarez (21:07), Emilse Tapia (21:25), Emily Scettrini (22:16), and Stephanie Castro (22:40) all moved on to the top all-time list.

The cross country teams will go head to head with their Norcal counterparts over the historic course at Crystal Springs on Friday, October 2nd. Crystal Springs is one of the oldest courses in Northern California and across the state. It will also serve as site of the Coast Conference and Northern California Championships in the coming weeks.

Cuesta Invitational - September 19, 2009

Taking a week off from Northern California competition, the Hartnell cross country teams ventured south to the Cuesta College Invite in San Luis Obispo. Run on one of the few courses dedicated solely to cross country competition, the Fairbanks Cross Country Course provides an excellent test of strength and endurance.




Freshman Ellie Herrera lead the Lady Panthers for the second week in a row, placing 16th overall in 20:39 in the women's 5k competition. The Panthers executed a team running strategy that garnered a third place team finish just 2 points shy of overtaking host Cuesta College for runner-up honors. Sused Cabrera was 19th (21:19), Mayra Garcia 23rd (21:43), Leticia Saldana 24th (21:45), and Jazmin Suarez 27th (21:56) to round out the scoring five. Despite a more challenging course, four women posted season bests for the five kilometers.

The Hartnell College cross country teams have a short week and will return to competition at the Lou Vasquez Invitational held at Golden Gate Park on Thursday, September 24th.