Women’s Cross Country Earns First Place at Tri-State Challenge

Competing for the first time out-of-state, the Hartnell College women's cross country team returned to Salinas with a first-place finish at the Tri-State Challenge in Las Vegas, Nevada. The meet was a collaboration between College of Southern Nevada and Hartnell College to attract two-year colleges from California, Arizona, and Nevada for a friendly competition in the desert. College of Southern Nevada played host at the desert oasis of Floyd Lamb Park on the northern edge of Las Vegas and featured a one-kilometer loop around the park's ponds and a two-kilometer loop that ventured into desert terrain.

In the women's race, freshman Gabriela Cardenas took the early lead in the first loop around the ponds and held it to nearly the 2.5 mile mark. She would finish second to Victoria Jamison of College of the Canyons but was the first freshman to complete the 5k distance in 19:27. The Hartnell women ran as a pack from the beginning, asserting themselves early. A pair of freshmen emerged in the second and third spots for the Panthers: Deisy Gracida Gabriel (20:19) in sixth and Crystal Madrigal (20:25) in eighth, with Madrigal running her first race of the season. Sophomore Janai Orozco showed improvement at 20:31 in ninth place, with Alexa Flores at 20:38 to round out scoring in eleventh overall. The Hartnell women tallied 36 points, ahead of College of the Canyons with 53 points for second place. Yareli Meza (21:00) and Jenna Partida (21:07), rounding out the top seven.

The Panthers will host the Pink the Park Invitational, formerly the Toro Park Invitational, on Friday, October 3 at Toro Park. All participating teams are encouraged to wear pink in support of Breast Cancer Awareness Month. The women's 3-mile race will be at 10:30 a.m.