MARAUDERS YOUTH MOVEMENT HIGHLIGHTS CROSS COUNTRY OPENER

Antelope Valley College traveled to Arroyo Vista Park in Moorpark, the site of the Moorpark College Cross Country Invitational. The meet featured 5k for women and 4-mile races for the men. Both men's and women's teams had a mix of veterans and newbies, but it was a strong frosh presence that highlighted the morning.

In the first race of the day, freshman Ailani Salazar took up the slack in her first 5k competition. Salazar placed 28th out of 59 in a time superior to her 3-mile times from a year ago. Sophomore Brianna Dominguez also showed improvement, cutting over 3 minutes from her 2022 opener.

On the men's side, Leo Lopez ran as the 3rd and 4th man for the first mile and a half. But by 2 miles, he took over the top team spot and never relinquished it. He placed 24 out of 90 finishers.

"We had a couple of women under the weather and one needing a medical clearance, or we would have made a better impression on the team scores..." head coach Tony Veney commented. "We'll be at full strength when we need to be in October, so Ailani's and Brianna's efforts were positive. We finished our top five men just over a 1-minute differential, which we'll have to maintain if we want a trip to state," he added. After Lopez, Eric Amaya (another freshman), Kai Smithley, Tim Moreno, Jesus Flores, Richard, and Joseph Santiago. The Marauders still have a lot of work to do in the coming weeks, but coach Veney believes this group of young people can meet the challenge.

The Marauders will visit Oxnard College next for their annual invitational. The women's race starts at 10 am, followed by the men's at 10:45 am.