Men's Cross Country 23rd At SoCal Preview

With plenty of work to be done, the 2022 Pasadena City College men's cross country team placed 23rd of 25 scoring teams at the SoCal Preview Meet held Friday at Kern County Soccer Park's 4-mile course in Bakersfield.

Michael Bartle, a freshman from Verdugo Hills High, was the only Lancer to break 24 minutes as he placed 129th overall (247 racers in the field) in a time of 23:58. 

Following Bartle was Youssef Cherqaoui, freshman from Burroughs High (Burbank), in 171st (24:51), then frosh Joshua Ramirez (frosh, South Pasadena HS) in 195th position (26:03). The other scoring runners for the Lancers were letterman Etienne Deleage in 211th (27:20) and Johnathan Macali (freshman from Florida) in 219th (28:03).

The Lancers were running for the first time since several participated in the season-opening Cal State San Bernardino Coyote Challenge on Sept. 10. Ramirez was 39th overall in the 8-kilometer race in 30:01 while Bartle was chasing close in 40th at 30:09. Pasadena did not score as a team at the meet.

Last week, PCC didn't race after Cerritos College could not obtain a permit thus cancelling its scheduled Falcons Invitational on Sept. 16.

"This Preview meet was essentially our opener because it was a regulation 4-mile course," said PCC head coach Innocent Egbunike. "It hurt us to not get that Cerritos race. I think we will improve with a more consistent racing schedule. Hopefully, we are able to not have any more obstacles along the way."

Pasadena will next be in action on October 8 at the Chaffey Invitational. Philycius Oey, the team's top racer last year, is expected to be ready for that race after winning an appeal to get a year of eligibility back after serving in the military.