Cross Country team wins first conference championship in its history

Jonathan Garza • October 30, 2012

Sophomores Brandon Taylor (left) and Munir Kahssay (right) lead the race coming over a steep hill in the first leg of the race. Kahssay finished No. 2 and Taylor No. 3

In 1969, the Cerritos College men’s cross country team was founded. In its history, the team had never won a conference championship.

That changed on Thursday, Oct. 25, when the squad captured its first conference title in men’s cross country in school history.

The men have been joined by the women, who secured their fourth conference championship in school history.

Previously, the women were victorious in 2004, 2005, and 2008.

Cerritos College’s men edged second-place at Los Angeles Trade Technical College 28-38, with 14 of the top-20 runners from the meet hailing from these respective programs.

What makes the accomplishment even more unique is that both the men and women captured a conference championship together, which has not happened for any school since 2002.

The men were led by sophomore Munir Kahssay whose time of 19 minutes, 27.33 seconds garnered him the title of overall winner of the meet.

Meanwhile, sophomore Karina Sanchez took home the South Coast Conference individual championship with a time of 20 minutes, 14.78 seconds, this after finishing 14th in the event a year ago while with El Camino-Compton Center.

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About the Contributor

Jonathan Garza, Online Editor

Hello everybody, My name is Jonathan Garza. I am a second-term online editor of the Talon Marks brand for the fall 2013 semester. Former titles I have held at Talon Marks include: associate sports editor, co-sports, sports, managing and online. Outside of Talon Marks I have six years of journalistic experience, which include being the editor-in-chief and owner of WCBSports.com, a sports website with a west coast bias, the former EIC and part-owner of DodgersNation.com, and a contributor to LakersNation.com. My hobbies include: Bowling, Hiking, Basketball, Video Games and Writing, among other things. I am a lover of all sports and an especially big fan of the Los Angeles Dodgers, UCLA Athletics, Los Angeles Lakers and Peyton Manning (currently of the Denver Broncos). My goal is for my website, which stands for West Coast Bias Sports, to become a household name, and to see it become a reputable brand. I'd also love to work for ESPN some day covering all types of sports, and sharing my love for them with the world.