Season Preview: Vaqueros seek 3-peat to State Meet

Coach Scott Fickerson hopes three is the magic number for his SBCC women's cross country team. The Vaqueros are seeking their third straight trip to the State Championships at Woodward Park in Fresno.

Santa Barbara finished seventh in the 2012 State meet and 19th last year. The men's team, also coached by Fickerson, have qualified for two straight years as well, finishing 11th last season. It's the first time that both squads have made it to State in more than 20 years.

In his seventh season at the helm, Fickerson has his sights set on making another run at Woodward Park and improving on his teams' high placings.

"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 women return just one runner from last year's team that placed 19th in the state: sophomore Alexa Sanchez.

However, captain Dean Roell was the No. 6 runner on the 2012 State squad and is expected to add some experience to an otherwise young crew.

At the Ventura Invitational, the season's opening event at Arroyo Verde Park on Aug. 29, Roell led the Vaquero women with a 22nd-place finish, completing the 5-kilometer race in 24:09. She passed several dozen runners throughout the last two miles to move up from 48th place.

According to Fickerson, top newcomers include Kylie Walker, a standout at Corona del Mar High, and Camille Schutze from Nordhoff High. The latter finished midway through the pack in her collegiate debut at Arroyo Verde, coming in 41st out of 82 finishers while posting a time of 25:17.

Others looking to impact the unit are Cassie Everett (Santa Ynez High), Carly Seidel (Lakeridge High in Oregon) and Michaela Dahringer out of Stockholm, Sweden.

Seidel rounded out the small pack of three SBCC women to compete in the Ventura Invitational, crossing the finish line in 63rd at 28:15.

The Vaqueros return to action on Sept. 19 in the Southern California Preview at Woodley Park in Van Nuys.