Runners look to build on first race

Posted: Aug 31, 2012

Athlete	Mile 1	Mile 2	5K	Average pace	Place
Jennifer Tobias	7:29	15:29	22:21	7:11	22
Therese Turpin	7:39	16:01	23:26	7:32	39
Stephanie Escamilla	8:50	17:56	25:33	8:13	59
Brenda Roche	8:50	17:54	25:42	8:16	62
Areli Rios	8:20	18:10	26:03	8:23	67
Inez Alvarez	8:50	18:38	27:14	8:46	76
Erika Derks	??	??	29:03	9:21	81

The Santa Monica College Women's Cross Country team opened the season with one returning athlete and a host of first-year collegians lined up at the challenging Arroyo Verde Park course for the Ventura Invitational. Jenny Tobias looked like a veteran as she calmly moved up through the field and finished first for the Lady Corsairs. Tess Turpin held her composure, too, until the last 600 meters, at which point she looked like she was seeing ghosts. Still, she held position and took second for the team. Stephanie Escamilla, Brenda Roche, and Inez Alvarez worked together through the first mile. Stephanie and Brenda ran together for another mile, at which point Stephanie's strength brought her into the line a few seconds ahead of Brenda. Rounding out the scoring for SMC was Areli Rios. Areli looked determined throughout the race, and she paced herself well. Inez and Erika Derks finished as displacement scorers.

This was a fair beginning for the squad. The women know that their summer training was less than ideal, but they are in a position to see great improvement in a few weeks if they work hard between now and then. It is interesting to look at the women's times for the first mile and compare them to their average paces. Some of the women went out a bit tentatively, which is the better way to go (as compared to going out too hard) when starting a season on a hilly course, and a couple of others managed to hit it just about right over the whole course. All in all, the times reflect smart running, and the women can be proud of that. Now that the women know how it will feel, they can start to turn up the intensity earlier in the race.