The San Bernardino Valley College men's cross country team challenged itself last Saturday, finishing in third place at the eight-kilometer Cal State San Bernardino Challenge.

The longer distance stretched out the SBVC runners somewhat, according to coach James Ratigan. But it did provide some insight about how his team will respond to the challenges.

Vicente Quiroz was the SBVC runner across the line, finishing in the 10th spot with a time of 26 minutes, 29.1 seconds. Fercis Torres finished seven spots back, clocking in at 26:48.1.

Three more SBVC runners finished nearly together in the field, with Elijah McBroom finishing 23rd at 27:36.4, Chris Valderrama finishing 24th at 27:41.5, and Jacob Mendiola finishing 26th at 27:50.0.

SBVC now prepares for its third meet in as many weeks, as it will take on the best in Southern California at the Southern California Preview this Friday in Long Beach.