Sac City Express » cross country

Four fall sports teams make the 2011 post-season

Ilian Cervantes — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 05:36:30 +0000

As the school semester comes to an end, finals are quickly approaching and sports are winding down. Four fall Panther sports made it to the Big 8 Championships.

Wrestling

The wrestling team will head to Santa Rosa Dec. 9-10, for the California Community Colleges Wrestling State Championships.

The Panthers competed in seven different weight classes and placed second in the Big 8, behind No. 1 rival Fresno City College.

The Panthers put six wrestlers Dec. 3, into the North Regional Tournament finals at Skyline College, and crowned two champions, according to the City College wrestling Facebook page.

Golf

For the third time in a row, the women’s golf team took the Big 8 Conference Championship. In the NorCal Champions, City College f nished third, its fourth consecutive win at NorCal. Riley Sexton won MVP in the Big 8, and Head Women’s Golf Coach Tim Kiernan was named Conference Coach of the Year.

Cross-Country

Cross-Country competed at the California State Championships, Nov. 19, in Woodward Park, Fresno.

Five athletes from the women’s cross-country team and two from the men’s team represented City College at the championships.

Shelby Vollmer and Chris Rios led the team, clocking in a time of 20:51.13 and 21:49.90 respectively. The women’s cross-country team is ranked 12th in the 2011 NorCal rankings, and the men’s team is 10th.

Volleyball

City College ranked 18 in the top 25 volleyball teams of the state after the regular season, according to the State 2011 Poll No. 6 published late November.

Panther volleyball ranked 17-10 overall, and 9-5 for the Big 8 Conference record.

Additional reporting by Zach Schmitz

Sports Calendar

Online Staff — Fri, 30 Sep 2011 22:22:13 +0000

October 7, 2011

Oct. 7

Cross Country - MJC Invitational, at Tuolumne River Regional Park (Modesto), 3:30 p.m. / 4:15 p.m.

Football – Diablo Valley College, at Diablo Valley College, 7 p.m.

Soccer – Sierra College, at Sierra, 3:30 p.m.

Volleyball – San Joaquin Delta College, at San Joaquin Delta, 6:30 p.m.

Early practices track the way to state

Aidan Fitzsimon — Thu, 29 Sep 2011 20:24:50 +0000

It’s an early warm September morning and City College cross-country head coach Marisa Avendano is at the track having a laugh with her team as they prepare for daily practice. It’s not just fun and games – it’s hardwork, too.

Avendano, in her 11th year as cross-country coach, said she thinks highly of her team this season.

“The big difference is that this year we had summer conditioning, so I think that will be very helpful come October and November,” Avendano said.

The team’s fi rst meet was Sept. 10 at the Fresno Invitational at Woodward Park.

Sophomore team captain Chris Rios clocked in the best time for the men at 22 minutes and 36 seconds and captain Shelby Vollmer, freshman, led the women with a time of 21 minutes and 26 minutes.

“We had some people who set personal records which is great, but we use that fi rst meet as a test. We don’t go into it looking to break records,” Avendano said. “We look at it to see where we are at this point in the season [and] to see how we can adjust practices to help us improve.”

Rios, kinesiology major, fi nished 51st in the race and improved his time from last season. “I expect to go further than last year, I expect for the whole team to go to state,” Rios said. “Last year only one person made [it to] state.”

Rios said that it’s not easy waking up early and running long distances.

“(The hardest part) is the miles and waking up early everyday,” Rios said.

The team members meet daily at 7 a.m. for practice and run between three and four miles for their warm-up around Curtis Park.

The Men’s cross-country team placed eight out of 11 teams Saturday Sept. 17 at the Mills Invitational in Oakland.

Vollmer continued to lead the women’s cross-country team as the top athlete fi nishing 28th in Oakland with a
time of 26 minutes and 03 seconds.

Like other City College sports teams this season, the cross-country team has a lot of freshman.

“We have a lot of freshman that just joined our team,” Avendano said. “My expectations for them are to improve their times from last year to this year, for them to stay healthy and to make it as a team to the state meet.”

Training to build endurance is vital for successful long distance runners, Avendano said.

In cross-country, staying healthy can be half of the battle, as running everyday wears on the body, Vollmer said.

For this reason, Vollmer said, the team focuses on injury prevention as part of the program.

“This is a great group of athletes that I enjoy coaching,” Avendano said. “They have a lot to learn but they are doing what they have to do to improve as runners.”

Oh, Snap! Picture Of the Day-9/26/11

Kimberly Washington — Mon, 26 Sep 2011 17:51:44 +0000

City College student Mattea Mayness runs in Hughes stadium Monday morning as the first week of fall unfolds. Mayness, said "she's taken cross country training before and found it to be an epic experience." Photo by Kimberly Washington

Runner without limits

Rob Small — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 03:51:28 +0000

City College women’s track and field head coach Marisa Avendano watches her athletes practice. Photo by Rob Small

Many head coaches at City College oversee one sport each year. Marisa Avendano is in charge of two.

Avendano, 36, is the head coach of the men’s and women’s cross country teams, and is in her first year as head coach of the women’s track and field team. Her love of running and competing has kept her coaching.

“I consider myself a very competitive person,” Avendano says. “I competed in practice as well as I did in an actual competition. I loved track practice. Running on the roads, running on trails, I loved every single minute of it.”

Even though she loves what she does now, she didn’t see herself being a coach. She was originally a business major and received her master’s degree in kinesiology, the science of human movement.

In 1997, she started training for cross-country in the Olympic Trials, which were held before the summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia. The trials were held at Sacramento State University in 2000, where she holds three of the school’s cross-country records.

“It took a lot of dedication and hard work,” she says. “I was running around a six- minute pace (per mile) for 14 miles. I loved every single step.”

Avendano trained from 1997-98, but a foot injury ended her hopes for the trials.

“I really couldn’t do much with my running career,” she says. “I said, ‘Hey, why not start coaching?’”

Avendano began her coaching career at City College in 2000 as an assistant coach for a cross-country team that wasn’t prominent at the time. She wanted to make a difference in the program.

Last season, the women’s cross-country team, coached by Avendano, earned the 2009 Big 8 Conference Championship. Now, she hopes to continue winning while coaching women’s track and field.

“She brings a lot of energy,” women’s track and field assistant coach Bill Carr says. “She brings the experience of having been part of the program for years past. I think she’s very dedicated and focused on continuing the tradition that the ladies’ program has here.”

Like other coaches, Avendano also teaches classes on campus, but she says she was reluctant to teach at first. Former women’s track and field coach Lisa Bauduin encouraged her to teach athletic classes at City College. After being put in charge of a walking class, Avendano discovered she loved teaching.

“The way I teach, it’s kind of like having a team, but now you’re in a classroom,” she says.

Avendano has taught classes in weight training, aerobics, boot camp and yoga.

As a head coach, she has to keep track of the athletes who practice during various times of the day. Although it may be difficult, sprinter Samantha Tansil knows that her coach is doing the right thing.

“She brings a lot of support to our team,” Tansil says. “She allows us to all sit together as a family, which we should be.”
Avendano has always been a competitor. Her passion for the sport will burn through the season coaching the track and field team to be the best.

No. 1, built to run

Tina Armour — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 03:37:33 +0000

Courtesy photo Marisa Avendano

On the cross country terrain, lined with rival colors and competition in the air, Kim Crouch repeats to herself, “God has a plan for me. This is what I live to do.”
And she defies all odds.

“If you would have come up to me last year and said that I was going to be No. 1 in Nor Cal, you’re going to be running the 18s again, I would have just laughed at you,” says Crouch, the top runner this fall on the City College women’s cross country team.

Recovering from a car accident in 2006, when she suffered a minor concussion, she has also been battling an ongoing intestinal disease. This can be career ending for some athletes, but Crouch has set the bar high for cross country by placing in the top four out of five races this season and she is ranked No. 1 in Northern California.

Crouch, 22, transferred to City College after attending Humboldt, Redwood and Sierra colleges. She is working toward her physical therapy certificate and hopes to transfer to Sac¬ramento State to pursue a career as a physical therapist.

“Running definitely relieves stress and helps me with my studying,” Crouch says. “You get used to a routine. It’s challenging but I chose to do it, so I keep up with it all.”
With Crouch staying busy between schoolwork and run¬ning, she rarely gets free time to herself. But when she does, she likes to spend it with those closest to her.

“I love to go to track days at Infineon with my boyfriend, Ranger, and rip up the track with my motorcycle,” Crouch says, who says she often visits the Sonoma County track, formerly known as Sears Point Raceway. “And my best friend and I are definitely going snowboarding this winter.”

Crouch, though modest about her own achievements, has made a big impact on those around her.

“She’s my best friend, my partner in crime and she can do anything. She’s amazing,” says Sherri Rouse, also a member of the cross country team. “She’s my motivation. She’s always been the fast one, so she pushes me.”

Crouch is currently ranked No. 1 in North¬ern California which has placed the entire team at No. 1 for the first time in City College history, according to cross country coach Marisa Avendano.

“Kim is one of the most talented cross country run¬ners we have had here at Sac City College,” says Avendano. “Kim’s true gift is her ability to support and bring the team together. Her energy and enthusiasm for running really brings out the best in everyone on the team.”

Crouch says she runs a 5K every meet, which is 3.1 miles.

“I’m very, very thank¬ful to be here today and to be able to do stuff that almost didn’t happen and almost couldn’t happen,” Crouch says. “And every day I remind myself why I wake up at 4:30 in the morning, put on my run¬ning shoes and suck it up and say this is what I’m going to live for.”

Q & A: Men’s Cross Country member Josh Evans

Online Staff — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 01:58:01 +0000

Q: How do you handle school with cross country?
A: I work out in the morning and have all afternoon to do homework, study or go to other classes.

Q: Do your eating habits change be¬tween seasons?
A: My eating habits don’t really change. I eat just about everything.

Q: What is your favorite memory so far?
A: My favorite memory so far is when we were at camp and all the team jumped into Lake Tahoe after our first race.

Q: What has been your most fun race this year?
A: It was definitely our first overnight race. We went to Fresno in a charter bus and had a lot of fun together. We raced the next day and it was fun the whole time- except the actual race part.

Q: When and where do you workout?
A: I workout Monday-Friday at either Land Park or Curtis Park at 7 a.m. On Sat¬urday and Sunday we meet up in Auburn to run over some hills.

Q: How much running do you do a week?
A: We do three medium runs a week with two interval days and one race day, fol¬lowed by a very long run. On average, the guys do about 60 miles a week.

Q: How is the team this year?
A: The team this year is looking super strong. If everybody gets healthy and stays uninjured, the girls’ team has a chance to win Nor Cal and the guys’ team has a chance to get top six in Nor Cal.

Q: How many people are on the team? How many coaches do you have?
A: We have a pretty small team compared to other JC colleges. We only have seven girls and eight guys that race with one main coach and two assistant coaches.

Q: How long have you been training?
A: We were working out kind of as a team over the summer, but started full time a week before school started and have been ever since.

Q: What is the competition like in our conference, compared to City College?
A: Our conference has pretty good teams this year, but we’re just as good so it’s going to be a close finish between the team scores.

Sports Calendar

Online Staff — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 02:13:17 +0000

Sept. 16

Water polo. City College vs. Sierra College at Hoos Pool. Time to be announced

Sept. 18

Volleyball. City College will host Shasta and Deanza College in the Panther Classic. At noon.

Soccer. City College vs. Mendocino College at Hughes Stadium. At 7 p.m.

Sept. 19

Wrestling. Sac City Tournament at City College. At 9 a.m.

Football. City College vs. Shasta College at Hughes Stadium. At 7 p.m.

Sept. 22

Soccer. City College vs. Feather River College at Hughes Stadium. At 5 p.m.

Sept. 23

Water polo. City College vs. Santa Rosa Junior College at Hoos Pools. At 4:30
p.m.

Sept 24

Cross country. Lou Vasquez Invitational at Golden Gate Park, San Francisco. At
3:30 p.m.

Golf. Big 8 Tournament at Metro Golf Links, Oakland. At noon.

Sept. 25

Volleyball. San Jose Tournament at San Jose City College. All day event.

Sept. 26

Volleyball. San Jose Tournament at San Jose City College. All day event.

Wrestling. Modesto Tournament at Modesto. At 7 p.m.