The San Bernardino Valley College men's cross country team had its share of ups and downs over the 2021 season. 

And while their team score at the 2021 CCCAA State Championships at Woodward Park in Fresno did not allow them to reach their goal, coach Jim Ratigan sees their 13th place finish as a building block for next year.

"We had a team goal of top ten and we finished 33 points just outside of tenth," he said. "I'm proud of how these guys competed over the last three races of the season."

The Wolverines were paced by a pair of freshmen. Juan Hernandez (Canyon Springs) finished 50th, stopping the clock at 21 minutes, 22 seconds. Not far behind him was Oscar Gaspar Chavez (Valley View), who was 59th with a time of 21:28.6.

Another pair of runners closed out the race close to one another. Logan Hernandez (Beaumont) was 86th, with a time of 21:53.4, while sophomore Kevin Quinteros - running after not being able to fully train over the past two months - finished 92nd at 22:00.3.

"Having Kevin run was a big boost," Ratigan said. "Once again Juan and Oscar led us upfront like they have been doing all season."

Adam Lunt (Cajon) finished the four-mile run at 22:54.5, while Aaron Esparza (Yucaipa) finished not far behind him at 23:11.0.

With his top three finishers at the state being freshmen, Ratigan is looking forward to the 2022 season, and helping his team improve - especially knowing what it will take to win on the course at Woodward Park.

"Logan came on strong the last half of the season," Ratigan said. "The guys now know the course and what they need to do to improve for 2022."