by Ramzi Rabadi
Staff Writer
A windy afternoon last Saturday affected and slowed the runners of the University of La Verne cross country team in the SCIAC championships in El Prado.
“The wind was terrible. It was brutal for everyone, but that is cross country,” said head coach Pat Widolff.
In the tough winds, sophomore Mike Hernandez ran a top time for the Leopards of 31:32 and finished 38th overall in the five-mile race.
“Mike ran super. The rest did not ran as well as they wanted,” Widolff said.
For the men’s team, five runners started the race, but only four finished due to an injury. In doing so, the team was not able to qualify for points because, as a team, they needed five runners to finish.
“For once we want a five-team squad so then we can place,” said Hernandez.
The team has struggled this year with qualifying as a team.
“It is a little bit of everything [with] injuries and people quitting,” Widolff said.
For the women in the 5K race, Eren Piceno (22:28) lead the Leopards and also placed 27th overall.
Claremont-Mudd-Scripps won the SCIAC title with 25 points for the women and 46 for the men.
The Leopards will head to El Prado in Chino for the NCAA Regional Championships Nov. 15.
