Revisiting the site of their last loss this season, the Vaqueros set a junior college team record time of 92:18 for the storied course, with their Nos. 1-6 finishers separated by only 68 seconds.
“I’m just excited that my team did good,” said Rosa Del Toro, who finished second for Glendale and sixth overall in 18:22. “I feel great.”
On a cool, sunny morning with light winds, the Vaqueros (43 points) had little opposition from the elements and were able to easily hold off their top competitor, defending state-champion Orange Coast College (80), which beat the Vaqueros by just two points at last year’s meet.
Moore and Del Toro were followed by Karen Rosas in seventh place in 18:23, Vivian Ochoa in 15th in 18:50 and Brianna Jauregui in 19th in 18:55.
Glendale’s sixth and seventh runners also had impressive results, with Jessica Wences finishing 20th in 18:56 and Angelina Gonzalez coming in 24th in 19:07.
“We ran an outstanding race,” said Vaqueros Coach Eddie Lopez, who has now won four state titles at Glendale after leading the women’s program to its first ever in 2007 and coaching the men’s program to championships in 1995 and ’98. “To get our top-seven in the top 24, it was a good race for us. That was the plan. ...It was a total team effort, I’m real excited about that.”
Last time the Vaqueros battled Orange Coast at Woodward, in the Foothill Invitational on Sept. 12, they came up short in a race Lopez deemed a subpar effort. But ultimately, the experience some members, including Moore, who helped Saugus High win a 2007 state title there, had at Woodward was a bonus on Saturday.
