The women’s cross country team was able to return home with a first place win following a trip to Kings Park, New York, last Saturday.

The team had the chance to compete at the St. Joseph Invitational, along with 18 other colleges, and come away with 48 team points. The lowest points received all season.

“[The team] really stepped up to it,” said Coach Bryan Ramos, “The women are really starting to see the benefit of [pack running.]”

Sophomore Adriana Velasco led the team through the race, clocking in at 20:23.5 minutes which placed her in the fourth finishing position.

The finish came at a close call with the fifth, sixth and seventh place runner finishing just three behind her time.

“When we saw the times,” he said, “We knew that we were in it to actually win it.”

The team was finally able to do what they had been lacking in past races.

They had the ability to stay calm and work together as team.

Ramos continued, “This is probably the best group running we have seen all year.”

When the concept of pack running final made sense to the team it was proved by the finishing of freshman Raquel Hernandez and Katherine Batres.

These two runners were not far behind getting Velasco.

Hernandez, who finished in 6th place with a time of 20:26 minutes, was overall satisfied with the performance of herself and the team.

She said, “In the beginning of the season we didn’t really know what we were doing. This race it finally felt right.

“Out of all the races we finally knew [that] this is what we have to do.”

Batres was not too far behind Hernandez finishing 14th overall timing out at 20:57.7 minutes.

The pack finishing continued with freshman Rebecca Harris and Sabrina Padilla who rounded out the top five scoring positions for Cerritos.

The two women finished consecutively. Harris came in at 17th place with a time of 21:11 minutes, and Padilla just three seconds behind her for 18th place.

“Overall we did pretty good,” Hernandez said, “[i know] there were a couple of women that were not happy with how they did.”

The focus will now be turned to the South Coast Conference Championships that is taking place on Friday, Oct 28.

“This is week is going to be for sure hard workout,” she said, “[we will] be thinking about this race during this week, for sure.”

Ramos really wanted to see the time between the first finisher and the last finisher decreased during the St. Joseph Invitational.

He said that if the time between the two can come down from 50 seconds to at least 45 seconds then the chances of placing in the top 3 are much greater.

“On Friday we are going to train at Legg Lake Park,” he said, “This will be are last hard workout before [the race].”

The two biggest competitors for the women’s cross country team, at the championships, are Mt. SAC and LA Harbor.

“They really need to be aware of where those teams are,” he continued.

The overall strategy for that race will to shift the focus from worrying about times and splits.

The key is to be aware of the overall position that each runner is terms of the other teams and the course.