Galindo leads five scorers in the top eight and 15 Mt. SAC athletes in the top 30 overall in men’s 4-mile race to prevail against Hartnell; Villegas achieves fifth win this season, Mounties hold off Glendale in women’s 3-mile competition

By Landon Negri for DyeStat

WALNUT, Calif. – It didn’t take long for Mt. San Antonio College freshman Jordan Galindo to go from the sidelines to being on the starting line Friday morning.

He certainly wasn’t expecting to be a hero.

But that’s what he proved to be as he helped the host Mounties sweep by successfully defending their turf with team victories at the Mt. San Antonio Community College Invitational.

RESULTS | INTERVIEWS

With the top-ranked men’s program in the state, Galindo ran the 4-mile race at Mt. SAC in 21:08.6.

He helped Mt. SAC place five scorers in the top eight and contributed to 15 Mounties finishing in the top 30 overall, as they eased to victory with 23 points against second-place Hartnell (79 points) and third-place Glendale (89).

The margin was smaller – 50-68 against Glendale Community College – for the top-ranked women, but just as impressive, considering Shandy Moore, who finished seventh, was their only runner to eclipse the 20-minute barrier in the 3-mile race.

Hartnell sophomore Andrea Villegas won her fifth invitational victory of the season, besting the field in 18:05.3.

Friday’s win had special meaning to Galindo, as he said he missed much of last season with a ruptured Achilles at Cal State Fullerton.

In fact, he said only found out late in the week that he’d be running Friday.

“It means a lot to me, because my whole last year, I was at Cal State Fullerton and I was injured the whole year,” he said.

He likes the way things are going so far this season.

“I came to Mt. SAC to find an opportunity,” he said, “and good things are working out well for me. I took advantage of it and now that I am here, I’m able to call myself a Mt. SAC champion.”

Galindo also got to experience the first time running a 4-mile course at Mt. SAC, which meant the first time experiencing a second trip up the switchbacks in the race’s final mile, a stretch he said “that was hell.”

“There was no way I could go up the hill one more time,” Galindo said. “And I did. But good thing the downhill was there. I took advantage of it, watched myself (and) tried to stay safe.”

Behind Galindo, the race was fairly tight and competitive.

Hartnell freshman Moises Benito placed second in 21:11.9 in his first Mt. SAC experience.

“First time doing those switchbacks, first time doing Poopout (hill),” Benito said. “The videos looked a lot easier.”

Benito added that he had been hampered by a calf strain for the last four to five weeks that had limited his training.

“This whole course was pretty tough,” he said. “It was something new, so it was a good experience.”

Glendale sophomore Ezequiel Soto finished third in 21:16.7 and was followed by a pack of four Mt. SAC runners that was the heart of the Mountes’ victory.

Freshmen Aidan Gomez and Christian De Loye were fourth and fifth, respectively, in 21:21.3 and 21:23.2. Sophomore Jonathan Aguilar was seventh in 21:34.4 and freshman Noah Chairez, an early race leader, placed eighth in 21:38.7.

“What it means for us to win our meet is that it shows that not only are we in great shape, but we’re exactly where we want to be,” Gomez said. “We were, and not in a boastful way, expecting to win, because this is our home turf. We practice these hills and train here every day.”

Santa Monica’s Jose Sevilla was sixth in 21:27.0. Glendale’s Jeremiah Galloway finished ninth in 21:50.0 and Mt. SAC’s Andrew Villeda was 10th in 21:51.1.

Running for Hartnell, which is in Salinas, Villegas has dominated this season in Northern California. That success continued Friday in Southern California with her 24-second win at Mt. SAC.

Villegas turned the race into a typical runaway on the switchbacks.

“I was going slow, so I just started moving a little bit more,” she said.

It was enough to get ahead of El Camino’s Sequoia Gonzales, the women’s runner-up for the second consecutive year.

Her time of 18:29 was five seconds faster than a year ago.

“I felt really good on the switchbacks and Poopout,” Gonzales said, “Compared to every time I’ve raced this course, I felt like I guess mentally it wasn’t as hard as I remembered it or pictured it this time around.”

As for finishing second twice in a row, was there any disappointment?

“I’m taking it for sure,” she said with a laugh.

East L.A. College’s Marbella Flores was third in 18:32.0, followed by Glendale’s Samantha Medrano in fourth (18:40.7) and El Camino’s Amy Jacobson (fifth, 19:06.6). Glendale’s Lillit Arakelyan was sixth in 19:09.7.

Moore placed seventh in a personal-best 19:19.3. She led the Mounties to the women’s title, despite Moore being the only Mt. SAC female competitor in the top nine.

Mt. SAC’s Ingrid Tamayo was 10th in 20:00.1, with the balance of the team’s scorers finishing 14th, 15th and 16th.

“It was the best feeling in the world being with your team,” Moore said. “Even within the race, we work with each other all the time.”

Hartnell’s Roselyn Olivo was eighth in 19:43.8 and Santa Monica’s Sarahi Jimenez was ninth in 19:57.7.