Santa Ana Cross Country Shines in Downey Classic
The Dons Cross Country program traveled to San Diego for Coach Downey Classic on Friday, taking top two spots in the women's and men's races
SAN DIEGO, Calif. – The Santa Ana College Cross Country program put on a dominant performance at the Coach Downey Classic on Friday, as the Dons finished first on the women's side and second on the men's.
With a time of 21:23.1, Andrea Anaya placed fourth overall and first for the Dons. Monique Azpeitia (22:21.2) and Jaylynn Vega (22.29.1) were right behind her, finishing eighth and ninth overall.
The Santa Ana women had three more athletes finish in the top 25 out of 52, giving them the top score of 47 and an average time of 23:15.
"I'm very proud of the girls. They're working very hard and the results are showing" Head Coach Miriam Mitzel said.
Santa Ana made significant improvements from their last outing at the SoCal Previews where they finished in 17th place.
Up next were the SAC men, who came into the event ranked 12th in the state after a 10th place finish in the SoCal Previews.
The men raced to second place with a score of 56 and an average time of 21:40.
Eric Jimenez had another big day, taking first place after racing to a time of 20:06.7. Jimenez has now finished in the top three in both of meets he has had this year.
Not far behind him was Jesus Fuentes, who came in 21:16.5, good for 5th place overall. Jeremiah Gil took 14th for the Dons with a time of 21:53.2 and he was followed by a trio of Dons that took spots 22 through 25.
The Dons look forward to hosting their next event which will be the Brubaker Invitational at Irvine Park in Orange, CA on Friday, Oct. 6th.
