WATSON, FLORES DO NOT QUALIFY FOR STATE MEET

IRVINE – Cody Watson and Fernando Flores were the lone two Marauder cross country runners to compete in the Southern California Championships, at Irvine Park, unfortunately neither of them qualified to the state meet in two weeks in Fresno.

"Cody ran about as well as he has all year. This is the highest he's finished by a lot," AVC head coach Mark Covert said. "It just wasn't good enough today. Another 15 or 20 seconds better and he might have had a chance to make it. He's disappointed and so am I. I really wanted to see him get in."

Watson finished the race with a time of 22:38.52 and ended up 102nd place. Flores was right behind his teammate and finished 117th as he crossed the line in 22:53.13.

"He'll (Flores) will run very well next season," Covert said. "I'll be surprised if he doesn't make the state meet next season."

San Bernardino Valley College's Luis Ortega won the race in 20:27.70, followed by Cuesta College's Sean McDermott (20:33.60).

San Bernardino had three runners place in the top six of the field and four of the top 20. The Wolverines won the team title, followed by Glendale College and Mt. Sac.