el Don /SANTA ANA COLLEGE • MONDAY, NOVEMBER 10, 2014/eldonnews.org
SPORTS
el Don /SANTA ANA COLLEGE • MONDAY, NOVEMBER 10, 2014/eldonnews.org
ORANGE EMPIRE CONFERENCE CROSS COUNTRY CHAMPIONSHIPS
16
VAZQUEZ, AVILA
SET TOP TIMES
PERSONAL BEST
STORY BY JORGE CAMPOS • PHOTOS BY ADRIAN GONZALEZ/ el Don
S
ophomore runners Azahalea Vazquez and
Jazmin Avila refuse to let their college
careers end without the best times.
Vazquez finished 10th and Avila 16th
overall for the Dons at the Orange Empire
Championship in Fullerton Oct. 31.
“We lost our top three runners in the
summer, they quit. But my top two right now
are doing real well,” Head Coach Miriam Mitzel
said. “They have shaved more than a minute off
their time from last year.”
Vazquez trimmed 43 seconds off her total time
from her last meet, the Mt. SAC Invitational,
running 19:09. It was her fastest this season.
“I feel really accomplished,” Vazquez said.
Avila also ran 42 seconds faster at conference,
clocking in at 19:30 compared to her 20:12 time
at Mt. SAC.
“I didn’t want to end my season without being
able to run 19s. That’s what motivated me,”
Avila said.
Vazquez and Avila have drawn interest
from several four-year schools, including the
Universities of Kansas, Arkansas and Georgia.
“I told them that the faster they run, the more
schools will call about you,” Mitzel said.
As a team Santa Ana College placed sixth
overall at conference. It is the team’s second
highest placing since the first meet of the season,
at Palomar College, where the team placed third
and the pair placed in the top eight.
They competed in the Southern California
Finals in Van Nuys Friday and are expected at
state finals, to be held on Nov. 22 in Fresno.
AZAHALEA VAZQUEZ
OCTOBER 31: Vazquez
ran her best time all
season at 19:09 in the 5k
run at Creek Park.
OCTOBER 10: Her 20:05
time at the SAC-hosted
Brubaker Invitational gave
her a 13th place finish.
SEPTEMBER 5: She
started the season
clocking in at 20:34 at the
Palomar Invitational.