Costello captures Moorpark Challenge in record time

SBCC's Tiffany Costello made quite a splash in her college cross-country debut on Friday morning. She ran through 100-degree heat to capture the Moorpark Challenge in a course-record 19:46 for the 5K route.

The freshman from Coto de Caza never ran cross country in high school. She played soccer at Tesoro High and ran track for SBCC last spring, finishing second in the 10,000 in the WSC, Southern Cal and State meets.

Christy Chavira, a sophomore from Righetti High, took sixth in 22:07 in the 24-runner field.

Costello beat Emma Player of Moorpark by seven seconds and Briana Valencia of Oxnard was third in 20:26.

"Tiffany and Christy both ran smart for the conditions and the challenging hilly course," said coach Scott Fickerson. "They went out very controlled and then moved up steadily.

"Tiffany rallied from a 15-second deficit at the halfway point, took the lead at 2½ miles and won by seven seconds. Christy moved up from 10th at the mile mark to finish sixth."

Only two of the six teams had five runners. Oxnard edged Moorpark 27-28 for the team title.

The Vaqueros will be back in action on Friday, Sept. 15 in the Southern Cal Preview at Central Park in Saugus.