With two runners already guaranteed a trip to the 3C2A State Track Championships, members of the San Bernardino Valley College track and field teams raced for their opportunity to join their teammates at the Southern California Regionals on Saturday at Saddleback College.

And six more athletes will join Kevin Nava and Zack Calderon – who qualified in the 10,000 meters – at the College of San Mateo this weekend.

Leading the pack will be Jacob Mendiola, who won the 3,000-meter steeplechase with a time of 9 minutes, 37.5 seconds, winning the race by nearly 6 seconds. Mendiola will go into the finals still holding the top time in the state this year.

He will be joined by the men's 4x400 meter relay team, which finished fifth with a time of 3:16.04. The team, featuring Keshion Mackel, Semaj Johnson, Elijah Koskey, and Solomon German, had also run the 4x100 relay, finishing with a time of 42.27 seconds.

With the finishes from the relay team and individual runners, the SBVC men finished the meet tied for seventh as a team, earning 21 points.

But it won't just be members of the men's team making the trip to San Mateo. Sara Jaquez advanced to the state meet in the 800 meters, posting a personal best time of 2:19.89 for fifth place – just .03 behind fourth-place finisher Deniya Fields of Pasadena City.

The state championships will be held Friday and Saturday at the College of San Mateo, and will be streamed for a cost of $12 per day. Tickets at the event are $15 per day.

For updated information, check the 3C2A website.