Four members of the San Bernardino Valley College men's cross country team finished in the top eight, as the Wolverines outran the rest of the field to win the Inland Empire Athletic Conference championship Friday at Xavier Prep School.

Juan Hernandez crossed the finish line first to win the individual title, stopping the clock at 22 minutes, 25 seconds, finishing 16 seconds ahead of Chaffey College's Amelio Chio on a tougher than expected course that was excaberated by the heat at the event hosted by College of the Desert.

"The course was tougher than it first appeared because of some heavy sand for about a quarter mile on each of the two perimeter loops," said SBVC Coach Jim Ratigan. "Plus, the temperature was in the low 90s when the race started."

Oscar Gaspar Chavez finished third, crossing the line at 22:52, while Adam Lunt was sixth at 23:45. Logan Hernandez finished eighth with a time of 24:19 and Aaron Esparza rounded out SBVC's scorers, finishing 14th at 26:22.

While proud of the accomplishment, Ratigan knows that his team will have to run better at the So Cal Finals to make a return trip to the State Championships in Fresno.

"Overall, I'm proud of this small group for winning the IEAC title," he said. "We've had some inconsistencies in training in terms of getting everyone together, but the guys have perservered. We just need a strong finish this week to make sure we reach the starting line in Fresno."