Barajas Wins, Then the Other Shoe Drops

COSTA MESA —  Eleazar Hernandez of Moorpark College and Marisol Barajas of Mission both got the victories they came for in the Johnie O Invitational cross-country meet at Fairview Park on Saturday.

But only one of them left as an official winner because Barajas was disqualified for wearing track spikes in the women’s race after clocking 19 minutes 2 seconds over the 5,000-meter course. The time gave Barajas a comfortable 21-second margin of victory over second-place Liz Robles of Mt. San Antonio, but Southern California junior college rules prohibit runners from wearing spikes in cross-country races.

That was news to Mission Coach Gretchen Lohr, who loaned the spikes to Barajas because she had been racing in training flats all season.

“I thought we were going by NCAA rules,” Lohr said. “And NCAA rules allow you to wear spikes in cross-country races. I never would have had her wear them if I knew it was against the rules. There was nothing in the [pre-meet information] packet that said you couldn’t wear spikes.”

Barajas, who was ecstatic after running her record to 5-0 against junior college competition this season, broke down in tears after being disqualified. But she joked about it a few hours later, according to Lohr.

“She knows she won the race,” Lohr said, “and that’s what’s important. This is only going to make her more determined to win the state championships.”

With Saturday’s meet, which is named after the late Yuba City Coach John O’Rognen, serving as the Southern California championship in all but name, Barajas would appear to have a great chance at winning the state title Nov. 23.

Robles placed seventh in the state championships last year and won the Gold Coast Invitational at Fairview Park in 19:21 earlier this season, but Barajas easily disposed of her.

After leading the field through the first mile in 5:32, Barajas and Robles broke away from their pursuers. By the halfway point, Barajas began to put some distance between herself and Robles.

“I wanted to come in here and run well,” Barajas said. “I wanted to show people what I can do. . . . I’m so happy. I’m so excited.”

That was before her disqualification, which dropped Mission from fifth to 11th in the team standings and overshadowed a fine performance by Ventura.

The Pirates had finished a distant second to Mission in the first two Western State Conference meets of the season, but they placed fifth with 190 points on Saturday, paced by 12th-place Colette Davis’ 20:33 effort.

In the men’s meet, Hernandez won his second consecutive Johnie O title and teammate Francisco Sandoval finished third to lead Moorpark to a second-place total of 101 points.

Pasadena City, paced by former Crescenta Valley High standout Phil Gonzalez in fourth, won with 72 points.

Hernandez clocked 19:42 over the four-mile course to remain undefeated in six races this season, but he was disappointed he failed to improve on his 19:31 time from a year ago.

“Last year I was running just to run,” Hernandez said, “but my goal this year was to do better than I did last year.”

With Miguel Galindo of Ventura finishing second in 19:54, Sandoval third in 20:13 and Mission’s Ricardo Valenzuela fifth in 20:14, it was a strong showing for the WSC.

Galindo, who ran with Hernandez for the first 2 1/2 miles, led Ventura (236 points) to fifth place.

“I had finished within [18] seconds of [Hernandez] in the last meet so I figured if I did that here, I’d finish in the top five,” Galindo said. “I knew that if I could run with him for the first three miles, I’d be in pretty good shape.”