Hartnell Women Continue Hot Streak
Running at Toro Park for the first time since November 2019, the Hartnell College women continued to show they are the top team in Northern California. With six runners in the top 14, the Panthers won their fourth straight meet.
Freshman Sofia Camacho, who prepped at North Salinas High School, is starting to the show the form that made her one of the best track runners in the Central Coast Section. Camacho lead nearly the entire race chased by the Norcal Preview runner-up Mannat Gill of De Anza College and teammate Valeria Lozano-Gomez, the winner of the Norcal Preview. Gill caught Camacho with under a half mile to go but a final sprint saw Camacho come from three seconds behind with 300 meters to go to winning by three seconds. Camacho covered the 3 mile course in 19:01, her fastest time ever at Toro Park. Gill held on to second in 19:04. Lozano-Gomez was a close third in 19:09, running very close to her debut time on the course from 2019. Freshman Andrea Villegas finished fourth in 19:44 and was the only other woman in the field to run under 20 minutes. Fellow freshman Ashley Ochoa continues to excel and finished tenth in 20:30, her fastest time of the season. Faith Mora (20:47) and Jazmin Mora (21:02) placed thirteenth and fourteenth. The Panthers scored 29 points to and have yet tally a score for their top five runners over 30 points. Mariah Changco also competed (21:33) but was at less than full strength.
The Panthers continue their streak of races with the Crystal Springs Invitational on Friday, October 8. This will be an opportunity for the women to compare their college performance to times posted on the 2.96 mile course while in high school.
