In the Southern California Championships, held at Mission Bay in San Diego on Friday, the Cerritos College men's cross country team finished in 11th place with 288 team points. That result earns the team a trip to the CCCAA State Championships, which will be held at Woodward Park in Fresno on November 23.

With 26 schools and 186 runners in the event, there were many groups of runners that finished the 4-mile race in a tight pack. Completing the course first for the Falcons, sophomore Pablo Calderon (Downey HS) ran an excellent race and posted a 16th place time of 21:56.2. He held off nine other runners that finished within :10 seconds of him and was less than two seconds shy of a top 15 finish.

Although it was just :49 seconds before the next Falcon finisher, it was a 31-place drop in the finishers, as sophomore Jaime Quinones (Downey HS) posted a 47th place time of 22:35.3. He was part of a nine-person pack that all completed the race less than 10 seconds apart barely missed out on jumping ahead three positions. Freshman Antonio Calderon (La Mirada HS) was part of that group and crossed the finish line three seconds after Quinones to earn a 52nd place with his time of 22:38.9.

The last two runners that helped compile the team score completed the course seven seconds apart, with freshman Jordy Mazariegos (La Mirada HS) taking 91st place in a time of 23:23.4, with freshman Daniel Alonzo (Artesia HS) taking 98th place overall when he crossed the finish line in a time of 23:30.4. Just like with the other runners, the two held off multiple runners to earn their position in the standings.

Also running for the Falcons were Alberto Serrano (St. John Bosco HS; 110th place; 23:44.6) and Eliab Ruiz (Norwalk HS; 145th place; 24:53.4).