The College of the Canyons cross country program had a combined 16 runners from the men’s and women’s teams honored as Western State Conference (WSC) All-Conference honorees, in addition to head coach Lindie Kane who was named men’s team coach of the year.

In October, the men’s team claimed its second WSC championship in as many years, narrowly outlasting Cuesta College 41-42 at the conference championships held at Arroyo Verde Park in Ventura.

Results from the WSC Championship meet were subsequently used to determine All-Conference selections.

On the men’s side COC sophomores Grant Stromberg (second place, 21:47), Robert Pion (third place, 22:02), Rodrigo Ornelas (fifth place, 22:05) and freshman Ashton Garcia (eighth place, 22:28) each earned First-Team All Conference selections.

Meanwhile, the COC women’s team finished in the conference’s second spot behind eventual champion Glendale College, having been edged out 14-19.

COC freshman Shalyn Mabritto (fourth place, 20:39), sophomore Dominique Dowell (seventh place, 21:10), and freshman Amanda DeJesus (eighth place, 21:11), Lizeth Flores (10th place, 21:16) and Alexandra Whitman (12th place, 21:31) were each named First-Team All Conference.

In addition to the college’s combined nine First-Team selections, COC head coach Lindie Kane has been named the WSC men’s cross country coach of the year.

In 2014 the men’s team won every community college meet it participated in, eventually finishing the season by winning both the SoCal Championship and its first California Community College Athletic Association (CCCAA) Cross Country State Championship since 1975 — achieving the cross country equivalent of a triple crown season.

Rounding out the list of COC honorees were freshman Zachary Strader (23rd place, 23:22) who earned a Second-Team All Conference bid, and fellow freshmen Luke Contreras (29th place, 23:41) and Arnold Bautista (30th place, 23:41) who were each designated as Honorable Mention selections.

Sophomores Amanda Meredith (17th place, 22:13), Ashley Fairbanks (19th place, 22:17) and Yesenia Razo (20th place, 22:20) were each named Second-Team All Conference, while freshman Mishel Herrera (30th place, 23:07) was named Honorable Mention.

“All of these student athletes are so deserving of their accomplishments,” said Kane. “They worked hard, competed at the highest level with excellence and achieved magnificent success for themselves, each other and College of the Canyons.”

For more information about the 2014 College of the Canyons cross country program please visit www.COCathletics.com.