2008 Woodie Awards
Mustangs keep running towards goals
Steven Martinez
Issue date: 10/14/05 Section: Sports
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The Mustang men's and women's cross-country teams continue to gain momentum and experience this season. With the Lou Vasquez Invitational in San Francisco as a backdrop, the teams set realistic goals and ran them down.
"We ran very well. The top five runners all were within 40 seconds of one another. That is very important. [Our] team goals were to run together," said coach Dan King.
In the 15-team invitational, the women's team stepped up to finish in the top half of the standings. The men's team, made up entirely of freshmen, shared a different fate. They finished near the bottom of the standings.
Manjit Sandhu and David Zevely were two runners who turned it on at the invitational. Team leader Omar Parra, a mature runner, acted as a coach on the field and helped set the tone of the teams.
The youth possessed by both teams gives hope of improvement through the end of this season and shall build a strong foundation for next season. King is looking to treat the invitationals as warm-up to what he calls, "the big meets." The first of the big meets will be the Big Seven Championships, held on the last Saturday in October.
"We are going to train through the next three meets. The entire team has stepped up. They are a young group with loads of talent that can be developed. We are a strong team full of freshman, maybe one of the best freshmen cross-country teams this year," commented King.
Time will tell if these young runners will improve and develop quickly enough to have an impact in the State Junior College Championships next month.
"We ran very well. The top five runners all were within 40 seconds of one another. That is very important. [Our] team goals were to run together," said coach Dan King.
In the 15-team invitational, the women's team stepped up to finish in the top half of the standings. The men's team, made up entirely of freshmen, shared a different fate. They finished near the bottom of the standings.
Manjit Sandhu and David Zevely were two runners who turned it on at the invitational. Team leader Omar Parra, a mature runner, acted as a coach on the field and helped set the tone of the teams.
The youth possessed by both teams gives hope of improvement through the end of this season and shall build a strong foundation for next season. King is looking to treat the invitationals as warm-up to what he calls, "the big meets." The first of the big meets will be the Big Seven Championships, held on the last Saturday in October.
"We are going to train through the next three meets. The entire team has stepped up. They are a young group with loads of talent that can be developed. We are a strong team full of freshman, maybe one of the best freshmen cross-country teams this year," commented King.
Time will tell if these young runners will improve and develop quickly enough to have an impact in the State Junior College Championships next month.