On Saturday, October 9, the EMCC Mountain Lions cross-country team competed in the Grand Canyon University Invitational held at Evelyn Hallman Park in Tempe. It was the best showing of the season for both the men and women.
Alyssa Fell and Jess Stewart set the tone for the day as both runners ran personal best times over the 5K course. Fell finished 34th with a time of 22:44.2, with Stewart four places back finishing 38th.
The men’s race featured nine colleges with seven of them fielding complete teams. Estrella Mountain's David Rodrigo continued leading the way as the team’s #1 runner. His time of 29:19.17 over the 8K course gave him 31st place in the 68-man field. He was followed by Brad Rowley (46th), Eli Nieto (49th), Juan Olvera (53rd), and Charlie Fridrich (56th) to round out the scoring for the Mountain Lions. Also running and completing the 8K race were David Perez (61st) and Efrain Loera (67th).
Overall, the men’s team took 6th place. Next up for the Mountain Lions is the Mesa Thunderbird Classic to be held at Riverview Park in Mesa on Thursday, October 21. The women’s race begins at 9:00 a.m., with the men’s race starting at 9:45 a.m.