Season Preview: Vaqueros to make another run at State

Fresno's Woodward Park has held a special significance for SBCC men's and women's cross country coach Scott Fickerson the last two years.

Dating back to 2012, SBCC qualified both squads to the CCCAA State Championships in Woodward Park. It was the first time that the Vaquero program had accomplished this feat in over 20 years of competition. Last season led to similar results, as both units returned to Fresno's historic course to compete at the State level. This time, the men notched their best performance in recent memory, just missing the top 10 with an 11th-place finish.

Now, as Fickerson enters his seventh season at the helm, he has his sights set on once again making a run at Woodward Park and improving upon his teams' high placings. For him, a three-peat is the ultimate goal and a great success.

"Qualifying both the men and women for the state meet in three consecutive seasons will firmly plant us among the top cross country programs in the state," Fickerson said. "It will set the bar for all future teams that qualifying for state is no longer good enough. Now they need to earn a high finish at the State meet."

The men are led by returners Alex Heuchert (San Marcos High) and Martin Montes (Buena).

Heuchert, the 2014 team captain and a state finalist in last spring's 1500-meter final, placed 26th in the CCCAA State Cross Country final last fall. In his quest to place top-10 this year, he got off to a strong start at the Ventura Invitational, the season's opening event at Arroyo Verde Park on Aug. 29. He led the SBCC men to a fourth-place team finish, taking fifth individually after completing the four-mile course in 22:28 minutes. He moved all the way up to fifth from 23rd place at the mile mark, shaving over one minute off his 2013 time. 

Montes looks to follow in Heuchert's steps with a top-30 finish that would improve on his 67th placing from a year ago. He was one of five Vaqueros to place in the top half of the 117-athlete field at Arroyo Verde, registering a time of 24:27 that was good for 38th.

Beyond Heuchert and Montes, a number of other top runners from Santa Barbara area high schools have joined the Vaqueros to help the unit break into the top 10 in the State.

Bradley Apodaca and Gustavo Bello (SBHS), John Greening and Lennie Nelson (DPHS) and Eric Salas and Ryan Sorenson (SMHS) are all freshmen on the Vaquero squad. Apodaca came in 43rd at the Ventura Invitational in 24:44.

Additionally, Adam Grimmitt (Rocklin High) and Matt Wells (Thousand Oaks) are another pair of Californians that are expected to have an impact on this season's deep roster.

Fickerson noted that two men new to cross country racing — Michael Bowlds of Colorado and Nikita Obukhov of Russia — are looking promising in early training and could play an important role in future meets.

Bowlds was the next Vaquero to finish behind Heuchert at Arroyo Verde, taking home 14th in 23 minutes flat.

"[Bowlds and Obukhov] have a strong chance of running in the top seven for us and add some great depth for a strong men's team," said Fickerson. "The men were 11th at State last fall and, on paper, this team certainly looks stronger than that squad despite their youth. Our success will be a matter of the men being disciplined and working well together as a team all season long so they can realize their potential."

After a three-week hiatus from competition, the men travel to the Southern California Preview at Woodley Park in Van Nuys on Sept. 19 at 10:45 a.m.