After finishing second to Orange Coast last year, the Lady Vaqueros cross country team were able to exorcise some demons and win their first state championship since 1980.

“There’s no team in the nation, at the junior college level, that could beat us right now,” said assistant coach David Rodriguez.

Sophomore Tove Berg, who had been the catalyst all year, led the Vaqs with a second place finish over the 3.2-mile course in Fresno. Berg finished with a time of 17:59. Vivien Wadeck finished third with a time of 18:02, Justina Sadauskaite finished ninth at 18:53, Amanda Barreto was 18th at 19:21, and Desiree Ruiz was 20th at 19:24.

Sadauskaite and Barreto are both freshman and should be back to defend their titles in 2008.

Berg was also named Western State Conference athlete of the year for the second straight year after she won seven of the eight races that she entered.

Head coach Eddie Lopez was named coach of the year for his work with the undefeated women’s team and the men’s team that finished 13th in state.