Micah Watson, Freshman, San Bernardino Valley College
The San Bernardino Valley College men’s cross country team captured the 2025 conference championship, led by an outstanding performance from freshman Micah Watson. Watson won the individual title with a time of 21:41 and went on to place second overall at the combined Pacific Coast Athletic Conference and Inland Empire Athletic Conference Championships at Harry Griffen Park.
Oscar Hernandez, Freshman, San Bernardino Valley College
Oscar had the best race of his young collegiate career by placing 5th in the IEAC Championships at Harry Griffen Park Friday, October 24. The Wolverines captured their sixth consecutive IEAC title and 28th out of the last 29 overall. Hernandez went out conservatively and slowly moved up in the field. His surge over the last two miles helped SBVC move up in the scoring and gave the Wolverines the victory over state ranked number two Cuyamaca and state ranked number five San Diego Mesa 35-39-49 in the combined race with the PCAC. Hernandez finished 13th overall out of 81 finishers in the combined PCAC/IEAC Cross Country Championships clocking 22:40 over the challenging four-mile course. "Oscar is a very talented runner with a lot of track speed. With some miles under his belt he is going to be a runner to contend with," said Jim Ratigan, SBVC head coach. "Oscar ran his best race of the year thus far at conference and we believe he has two more left in him at So Cal and State."
HONORABLE MENTION
Angel Ventura, Sophomore, San Bernardino Valley College
Angel ran a well executed race at the combined PCAC/IEAC Championships on Friday, October 24 at Harry Griffen Park in La Mesa. Angel let the race come to him as he went out conservatively and slowly moved up in the pack to finish 11th in the IEAC and and 22nd overall out of 81 finishers in the combined race at 23:37 for four miles. Angel is also an Academic All State runner with a cumulative GPA of 3.9! "Angel was a late addition to our roster this season and came in with minimal training during the crucial summer months. He has listened and has been patient and has now earned a spot on the traveling team to both So Cal and State," said head coach Jim Ratigan. "Angel last fall was our 7th runner on the team that finished third in the CCCAA State Championships. He has really matured this year as an athlete in regards to training and listening to his body. Angel is a fierce competitor and will give all he can to the team. Myself and Coach Ramirez are glad he is back out with us."