Defending State Champion ARC Men Narrowly Earn Win At NorCal Preview
The shorthanded American River College men's cross country team held off Hartnell College in an early season battle of Northern California powerhouses at the NorCal Preview on Friday. The Beavers edged Hartnell 35-36 on the extremely tough (and back in action) Sierra College cross country course. The overall winner was ARC sophomore Ozzie Hassen covering the hilly, winding 4 miles in 22:02.
On the women's side the College of Sequoias ran away with the team title with a score of 25. Hartnell finished second (70) and Sacramento City third (81). COS was led by the top two individuals in Alyssa Block and Jo Jo Zorn. Freshman Block earned the individual title with a time of 9:12.7, five seconds ahead of teamate Zorn. Hartnell's Yvett Felix earned third place with a time of 19:27.7.
The cross country course at Sierra College has not been used for competition since 2003 and has been revived as the host of the Northern California Championship set to be held on November 4. On Friday, the Norcal Preview Meet gave regional schools a chance to run the course that has been dormant for 13 years.