OXNARD — The College of the Canyons men’s and women’s cross country teams opened the 2017 season by running in the Oxnard Invitational hosted by Oxnard College with the women winning first place and the men in fourth place.

The women’s team finished first in the event on Friday, August 25, with 38 points to beat out defending state champion Glendale College (40 points) which had to settle for second place.

Oxnard (61 points) finished in third place, followed by Bakersfield College (79 points) and L.A. Mission College (107 points).

COC sophomore Díani Ellis led the Cougars with a time of 18:46.20 on the 5K course (3.1 miles) to place third in the field of 47 runners.

Sophomore Stephanie Martinez also finished in the top-10, placing seventh with a time of 19:13.

Sophomores Celine Whitman and Sophia Stephan finished 11th and 16th, respectively. Freshman Kianna Schlesinger was 36th, but did not factor into the COC score.

The Canyons men’s team placed fourth in the field of seven schools with a team score of 102 points. The Cougars finished four points behind both Bakersfield and Ventura which came in at 98 points each, but keep not keep pace with first place Glendale (19 point). Long Beach City College rounded out the top-five with a score of 149.

COC sophomore Garrett Noltemeyer placed 14th with a four-mile time of 21:47.75, while freshman Travis Cetti crossed the finish line in16th place at a pace of 21:59.96

Sophomores Cody Roelofson and Jacob Crosson finished 19th and 31st respectively, while freshmen Dylan Ricco (49th) rounded out the Cougars’ scoring. Dimas Murguia (55th) also competed but did not score for COC.

Full results for both the men’s and women’s events can be seen here.

Canyons will now compete in the Mark Covert Classic hosted by Fullerton College on Saturday, September 2, at Carbon Canyon Regional Park in Brea.

The event annually attracts a field of runners from both the community college and four-year college ranks.