For the first time in its nearly 50-year history, College of the Canyons women’s cross country won its conference title.
COC lifted the trophy at the Western State Conference Championships on Friday, Oct. 25, after winning the title race at Oxnard College.
For Canyons, it was the first outing of the season with its top eight runners taking the starting line and putting the team as close to full strength as it’s been all season.
Four Cougars finished in the top 11 while six finished in the top 26.
Saugus alumna Victoria Jamison continued her sensational freshman campaign with a fourth-place run of 18 minutes and 19.3 seconds for COC.
“Victoria, what a year she’s having,” said Canyons coach Lindie Kane. “Just to step out of the shadows from Saugus, which has a traditionally tremendous program that prepares our athletes for competition at the highest level. For her to come in, really set the tone from the beginning and to run some really big races with some of the best competition in the state, is just exceptional.”
Jamison was trailed by pack-running teammates Alyssa Arriaga (19:47.5), Katelyn Catu (19:50.8) and Lilliana Moreira (19:52.8). The three finished eighth, ninth and 11th, respectively, in a tight pack with all three runners within five seconds of one another.
The win was sealed by fellow former Centurion Giselle Ruiz (20:58.5) who came in 24th and was the final Cougar to score. Ruiz beat out 16 opponents who scored for their teams.
“The key to cross country is having the closest group between one through five,” Kane said. “We were fortunate that we had a group that was within 30 seconds of each other. If they can run together, then we have a good chance of beating a lot of teams.”
Kassidy Vargas added a 21-minute, 6.6-second finish just ahead of Emily Fairbanks who crossed the finish line after 21 minutes and 47.9 seconds.
The WSC title team is filled with local talent as Arriaga hails from Canyon, Catu is a former Golden Valley Grizzly, Vargas is a Castaic alumna while Fairbanks comes from West Ranch.
Canyons’ historic championship was not only the program’s first but also marked the first WSC women’s cross country title to not return to Glendale College since 2005, ending the Vaqueros’ dynastic run.
“We’re competitive every year,” Kane said. “The goal is to win at least individually if we’re not gonna be in the hunt to win it all. We always shoot for personal bests and to qualify on. Over the years, we’ve had about seven or eight teams that have had a chance to do this.”
Knowing anything can happen, Kane knew the title wouldn’t be secured until that fifth Cougar crossed the finish line. The coach, however, knew the night before, with her team returning to full strength, that COC had a shot.
“You can’t be overconfident but this was probably one of the few times I went to bed the night before thinking, ‘We have this, it’s ours to lose,’ knowing that we had everybody on the line,” Kane said. “It’s a little tougher when you have five to make five and everybody has to be spot-on, no mistakes. When you’re running all eight, you have a little bit of a cushion.”
Kane had high hopes for this team back in the summer. The team returned sophomores in Catu, Valdez and Fairbanks and had one of its strongest recruiting classes join the ranks.
“Looking at what these girls had run in high school, it was apparent that we had a shot at a very competitive team here,” Kane said. “The goal is to get on the podium and try to win the conference. I thought we were capable of doing that, just looking at their performances coming into our program.
Canyons was steady all year despite its injuries. Whenever one of the top eight runners went down, the next one stepped up and became a top-five-scoring runner.
The women’s team opened up the season with three podium finishes in its first four meets.
Kane was most pleased with her team’s second-place finish at the Golden West Central Park Classic in Huntington Beach. Jamison led the group of just six runners with a fourth-place finish in 19 minutes and 21.8 seconds while three other Cougars finished in the top 29.
COC has come a long way to earn its first title, a feat that became even more challenging to reach after COVID-19.
“It’s been a work in progress the last four years of pulling athletes back out and getting us back to where we were,” Kane said.
Kane believes the program gained momentum with the women’s finish and is hopeful it’ll only grow with what’s to come. Both COC men’s and women’s cross country teams are headed to the California Community College Athletic Association Southern California Championships on Friday at Chaffey College.
If all goes well, both teams will head to the state meet in Fresno in two weeks’ time.
COC’s men are ranked 11th in the state and will be fighting to reach the podium on Saturday pending more standout performances from Hart alumnus Nathaniel Wilkinson, former Canyon Cowboy Nathan Parras and Golden Valley alum Musa Rahman in the 4-mile race.
“If they’re healthy, the goal is to get on the podium,” Kane said. “San Diego Mesa and Mount San Antonio College are two of the top programs in the state. Then there’s a handful of others, including some schools at our own conference, on paper, that could get on the podium for third place. I think for us, a top-five finish would be great. A podium finish has been the goal for the year.”
COC returns to the starting line on Friday at 10 a.m.
