GARRETT, SOUTHERN LEAD KNIGHTS AT BUTTE INVITE

OROVILLE – Shasta College's men's and women's cross-country teams competed at the Butte Invite and Golden Valley Conference Preview meet Friday in Oroville with Jacob Garrett and Grace Southern leading the way for the Knights.

For the men, Garrett was the top Knight, running the 4-mile course in 20 minutes, 52 seconds (5:13 average mile) to finish seventh overall. Other Shasta College competitors included Joe Williams (40th, 24:01), Jeshua Wilkinson (43rd, 24:18), Aaron Young (47th, 24:34), Dixon Moore (49th, 25:08) and Cordell Brock (50th, 25:18). The race featured 10 teams and 57 individuals.

"Overall it was a solid meet performance-wise," said Taylor Duncan, Shasta College head cross-country coach. "Jacob is really coming on strong and his hard work is beginning to pay off. Joe and Aaron have improved immensely over the course of the season and are looking for faster times at the end of this month."

For the women, Southern was the top GVC runner, taking ninth overall by completing the 5K course in 21:38 for a 6:57 average mile. The race featured 10 teams and 46 individuals.

"Grace continues to dominate in regards to GVC competition and while her time was a bit down this meet we tried a different strategy that actually put her behind at the beginning and she did a great job of fighting to get back into the top 10, which shows what a strong runner she is," said Duncan.

Other Knights competing included Adrian Bartlett (18th, 23:19), Savanna Sanderson (41st, 29:46) and Matteya Ruiz (42nd, 29:56).

Shasta College competes Friday at the College of Siskiyous Bear Trail Invite.