Meulman’s first race is a strong one at Southern Cal Preview

Hannemijn Meulman looked solid in her first race on Friday, leading SBCC in the Southern Cal Preview women's cross country race at Don Knabe Regional Park in Cerritos.

There were 34 schools and 21 scoring teams. Glendale won the team title with 77 points, followed by Saddleback (82) and Ventura (145).

Samantha Barajas of Moorpark was the individual winner, covering the 5K course in 17:49 for a 21-second win over Olivia Burton of Ventura.

Meulman, a freshman from The Netherlands, placed 98th out of 191 runners in 22:20. Teammate Candice Hernandez was 128th in 23:27 and Danelle Tucker took 154th in 25:11.

"This was Hannemijn's first-ever cross country race and she ran with the poise of a veteran," said Vaquero coach Scott Fickerson. "She was patient early and moved up well. She will continue to improve all season with experience. All three ladies ran strong races today."

The Vaqueros will run in the WSC Preview on Friday, Sept. 28 at Cuesta College.