SOUTHERN, BARTLETT SHINE IN SEASON-OPENING MEET

Shasta College's men's and women's cross-country team competed at the Beat the Heat meet in College of Redwoods on Aug. 31 with the men taking third overall and the women turning in two top-10 finishes.

For the men, freshman Jacob Garrett led the Knights, running the 4-mile course in 24 minutes, 2 seconds. The Knights were third overall out of six teams, competing against College of the Siskiyous, Butte, Hartnell, Redwoods and Southwestern Oregon.

"It was the first collegiate cross-country meet for everyone competing and they were competitive which is all you can ask for," said Taylor Duncan, the Shasta College cross-country head coach. "In the Golden Valley conference (GVC) we are looking to compete for both the men's and women's championships and will field two full teams at our conference championship for the first time in quite a while."

Joe Williams was 20th in 26:37, Dixon Moore was 25th (28:13), Cordell Brock was 27th (29:04) and Aaron Young was 29th (29:40). Isiah Wilson also competed, finishing 34th in 37:08.

For the women, Grace Southern was fifth overall and finished first among all Golden Valley Conference runners. She completed the 5K course in 24:27. Adrian Bartlett was ninth (25:36) and Alia Sager was 29th (41:42).

"A few standout performances were on the female side where Grace Southern and Adrian Bartlett really shined," Duncan said. "They are getting better each week and will be competing with one another for the GVC individual championship when we get to conference Nov. 1."

Shasta College is back in action Oct. 4 at the Toro Park meet at Hartnell College.