Irvine Invitational Cross-Country Meet : Mt. SAC’s Sellon Sets Course Record

Janice Sellon of Mt. San Antonio College set a course record to win the women’s division of the Irvine Invitational community college cross-country meet at Irvine Park Friday.

MiraCosta won the women’s team title with 82 points. Mt. SAC finished second with 89, and Orange Coast College, led by Tracy Wright’s ninth-place finish, was third with 98.

Sellon, 32, broke away from the leaders at the 1 1/2-mile mark with a quick surge down the first steep hill.

After stretching her lead to almost a minute, Sellon finished the three-mile course in 16 minutes 38 seconds, breaking the record of 16:56 record set in 1985.

“I came here without any idea I would win,” Sellon said. “I thought there were only going to be five schools or so here, but then I got to the starting line and there were a ton (150 athletes from 26 teams).”

In the 28-team men’s division, Uriel Rivera of Long Beach City College ran an intense, shoulder-to-shoulder race with Mt. SAC’s John Vance before he outsprinted Vance in the final 100 yards.

Rivera finished the four-mile course in 19:39, followed by Vance (second, 19:41) and John Fedoroff of El Camino (third, 19:47). Marcial Beltran of Fullerton finished fifth (19:48).

Grossmont won the men’s team title with 92 points, followed by El Camino with 95.

Rancho Santiago, led by Jim Sorenson (sixth, 19:54), was third with 134.