Fall Season Preview: Valley College's Cross Country

On Aug. 11, accomplishments were made by the 2014 SBVC Women’s Cross Country team and building on those actions are what will take the team to greatness. They ended the regular season with a 16th place finish at the CCCAA State Championship, obtaining their second straight CCCAA state finals appearance with an eighth place finish at the SoCal Championship a week prior. It is safe to say the team had a successful run, collecting their sixth Foothill Conference Championship concluding the 2014 season with the retirement of longtime veteran coach, Ken Blumenthal. New appointed head coach, Eric Abrams, has high expectations in place for this upcoming season. With his experience in higher education Abrams wishes to help his student athletes on and off the course by building upon Coach Blumenthal’s set foundation and establishing a family style setting for all of his student athletes. Most importantly being sure that his student athletes feel the three C's, that they are "capable, confident, and connected." Coach Abrams previously coached both the girls and boys cross country teams at San Bernardino Cajon for the last 15 seasons, having also assisted, longtime friend, Blumenthal for a year at SBVC. Feeling excited and blessed to obtain his position as head coach for the SBVC Women's Cross Country team, Coach Abrams commented that he "is ready to do his best and leave it all out on the course." High expectations are common for Coach Abrams, listing his incoming freshmen class and returning runners, Jessica Hernandez (Rialto W.A Carter), Citlaly Garcia (San Bernardino Cajon), Jennifer Granados-Trejo (Jurupa Valley Patriot) and number one runner Fernanda Rodriguez (Rubidoux H.S). With hopes of this season taking his team back to state and not settling for anything outside of top 10. Developing a plan for every race and having a goal not out of reach, Coach Abrams and the Women’s Cross Country team is ready to return to state and “do more damage."