COMMUNITY COLLEGE ROUNDUP : Irvine Valley Women Win in Cross-Country

Irvine Valley established itself as the top women’s cross-country team early in the season with a commanding victory at the Orange Empire Conference preview run Saturday at Fairview Regional Park in Costa Mesa.

The Lasers, the defending conference and State champions, placed four runners among the top nine and finished with 39 points. Orange Coast (74) was second and Rancho Santiago (95) third.

Riverside’s Charlotte Maylok took the lead at the start and stayed in front. She won the 5,000-meter race in 19 minutes 43 seconds. Kim Foster (1945) of Golden West closed near the finish and placed second. Erin Remy (19:53) of Orange Coast was third and Irvine Valley’s Mayra Median (20:11) was fourth.

The Riverside runners finished first, second and third as the Tigers won the men’s race with 29 points. Rancho Santiago (51) was second and Fullerton (62) was third. Wilhelm Gidabuday of Riverside won the four-mile race in 19:20.