Diaz Takes First Place in Coach Downey XC Classic

The Long Beach City College men's and women's cross country teams performed extremely well on Friday morning at the Coach Downey Cross Country Classic in San Diego. Both teams earned their best finishes of the season so far.

The women's cross country team took second place overall with a total time of 1:59:17 and an average time of 23:51. The men's team placed third with a total time of 1:51:16 and average time of 22:15.

Sophomore Destiny Diaz was the first place finisher for the women with a total time of 20:58.7 and an average mile time of 6:45.1, which was seven seconds better than the second-place finisher. Last year, Diaz placed second in the meet with a time of 21:34.9 with an average mile time of 6:56.7.

Freshman Lilyanna Figueroa was the second top-10 finisher for the Vikings, with crossing the finish line in 6th place with a time of 21:59.6. Sophomores Seayanna Crawford and Ocean Sandoval followed closely behind in 13th and 14th to round out the top 20 finishers for the Vikings.

Freshman Rafael Gonzalez placed third out of 62 athletes for the men's team with a total time of 21:09.9 and average mile time of 5:17.5. Freshman Donovan Zavala was next up to cross the finish line for the Vikings in 11th place with a time of 21:46.8. Freshmen Oscar Morales and Ruben Bramasco were side by side across the line, with finishing in 20th and 21st.

The Vikings will continue action at the SBVC Cross Country Invitational on Oct. 13 starting at 10 a.m.