2008 Woodie Awards
Women finish 14th, men 28th
Michael Brown
Issue date: 10/9/08 Section: Sports
A middle of the pack finish was the final result of the Viking women's cross country team as they placed 14th out of 29 teams at the Bakersfield meet on Friday, Oct. 3.
The Vikings finished with a time of 1:49.16, good enough for a 416 score. Orange Coast won the meet in 1:34.54 with a 48 score.
Freshman Jaasmin Pina was the standout performer. She finished 14th out of 260 runners by completing the five-mile run in 19:22.
"There's a lot of talent on this team, but we must continue to work hard and improve in order to reach our potential," said Viking sophomore Diane Lopez.
Before the Bakersfield meet, sophomore Paulette Cain was enthusiastic about her team's prospects.
"This will be a good test," Cain said. "We eventually want to surpass the other team's in our conference because we didn't last season."
The Viking men's cross country team didn't fare as well as the women. They finished 28th out of 36 teams at Bakersfield.
The Vikes time of 1:56.34 for a 730 score didn't measure up to Orange Coast's 1:45.39 finish, which gave them a 92 score.Victor Muro was the Vikings best runner, finishing 162nd in 23:11.
Before the meet, during a practice at Heartwell Park in Long Beach, the Vikes braved the 80 degree plus temperature on Wednesday, Oct. 1, in preparation for Bakersfield.
First-year Head Coach George Mehale waved his arms emphatically and shouted to various runners, "Don't give up, keep working!"
After finishing 19th out of 25 teams at the Orange Coast Classic on Sept. 20, the day's heat didn't deter the Vikes from getting in repetitions during practice.
"This heat is good motivation, we'll live through it," freshman Jaylon Martin said while joking with teammates.
"The Orange Coast Classic was a struggle for us, but it was a good experience because we have a young team," Mehale said. "I didn't place much of an emphasis on where we finished because I want our team to see the big picture of where we need to go."
The Vikings finished with a time of 1:49.16, good enough for a 416 score. Orange Coast won the meet in 1:34.54 with a 48 score.
Freshman Jaasmin Pina was the standout performer. She finished 14th out of 260 runners by completing the five-mile run in 19:22.
"There's a lot of talent on this team, but we must continue to work hard and improve in order to reach our potential," said Viking sophomore Diane Lopez.
Before the Bakersfield meet, sophomore Paulette Cain was enthusiastic about her team's prospects.
"This will be a good test," Cain said. "We eventually want to surpass the other team's in our conference because we didn't last season."
The Viking men's cross country team didn't fare as well as the women. They finished 28th out of 36 teams at Bakersfield.
The Vikes time of 1:56.34 for a 730 score didn't measure up to Orange Coast's 1:45.39 finish, which gave them a 92 score.Victor Muro was the Vikings best runner, finishing 162nd in 23:11.
Before the meet, during a practice at Heartwell Park in Long Beach, the Vikes braved the 80 degree plus temperature on Wednesday, Oct. 1, in preparation for Bakersfield.
First-year Head Coach George Mehale waved his arms emphatically and shouted to various runners, "Don't give up, keep working!"
After finishing 19th out of 25 teams at the Orange Coast Classic on Sept. 20, the day's heat didn't deter the Vikes from getting in repetitions during practice.
"This heat is good motivation, we'll live through it," freshman Jaylon Martin said while joking with teammates.
"The Orange Coast Classic was a struggle for us, but it was a good experience because we have a young team," Mehale said. "I didn't place much of an emphasis on where we finished because I want our team to see the big picture of where we need to go."
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