Posted: Sep 30, 2016

PC's Ybarra Runs To 1st; Men 2nd, Women 3rd

In the top photo, Palomar's Mark Ybarra leads the men's race in the Coach Downey Cross Country Classic hosted by San Diego City College at Morley Field in Balboa Park on Friday. Ybarra won the race in 21:53 over a 4.0-mile course. Directly above, the Comets' Alyssa Cascos, who finished sixth in the women's race, comes up on two Southwestern runners. -- Courtesy photo

SAN DIEGO (9-30-2016) -- Palomar freshman Mark Ybarra ran to a first-place finish in the Coach Downey Cross Country Classic on Friday at Morley Field in Balboa Park.

Ybarra ran 4.0 miles in 21:53, followed by the Southwestern duo of David Flores (second in 22:25) and Agustin Barreto (third in 22:40) in a field of 47 runners.

Also for the Comets, Edgar Romero placed fifth in 23:10, Brandon Freaner was sixth in 23:37, and Matt De Haven placed eighth in 23:52.

Southwestern won the team title with 52 points, six points ahead of Palomar in second place with 58 points. San Diego City College was third with 67 points, Long Beach City College fourth with 83, San Diego Mesa fifth with 118 points and Imperial Valley sixth with 125 points.

In the women's race, Long Beach City College won with 24 points, followed by Southwestern (59) and Palomar (63) in second and third, respectively. Grossmont (119 points was fourth, Imperial Valley (126) fifth and San Diego City (132) sixth.

Alexis Ceballos from Long Beach placed first in 20:00 over 5 kilometers. The Comets' Grace Agyan took third in 22:16 with teammate Alyssa Cascos sixth in 22:57. The next Palomar finisher, Kiana Alvarez, was timed in 24:10 in placing 13th in the 42-runner field.