LAST RUN IS BEST GLENDALE COLLEGE RUNNER TAKES FIRST IN SERIES FINALE.

Byline: Julio Cortez Staff Writer

Thursday's summer cross country series race at College of the Canyons featured many runners who had personal bests as the school closed its 27th year of serving the running community.

Among participants improving running resumes was Alejandro Lemus, a Los Angeles resident who runs for Glendale College. He crossed the tape at 16:28 (five seconds faster than last week), taking home a medal for winning the 19-and-under group and a trophy for finishing first overall.

`I'm really happy,'' said Lemus, who finished last year's series third overall. ``(Thursday's weather) was hotter than last week, otherwise I would have finished with a faster time.''

The overall winner of the women's race was Anissa Seguin, who finally broke the 20-minute mark after three years of off-and-on running at the summer series. Last week, Seguin finished the 3-mile course almost one minute slower than Thursday's 19:06 finish.

``I paced myself better this time,'' said Seguin, a 28-year-old elementary school teacher. ``In the previous races I started too fast in the first mile and then I dropped in the second mile. This time I went off easy at first and just kept a steady pace.''

The race was the final episode of a six-race series run on consecutive Thursdays. This week's race featured 120 runners who finished the course.

Runners had to have finished two of the five previous runs and pay a $3 fee to participate in the finals. Unfortunately, Luie Bernal, COC's assistant cross country coach and race coordinator, found himself at the finish line picking out runners who hadn't registered. Of the first 15 finishers there were four unregistered runners, ``bandits'' by Bernal.

``We have a system going,'' said Lindie Kane, COC's head cross country coach. ``If they're not registered, then their times go to those who had registered and it all gets messed up. It's not fair.''

--Early start: Jessica Locke, 12, took home the first-place medal in the 10- to 13-year-old division.

The medal caps a successful week for Locke, who runs for the Warriors, a youth track and field team from Santa Clarita.

``(Thursday's) performance was not the best as far as time is concerned,'' said Locke's mother, Stacy. ''(All the runners) were kind of tired from last week.''

The Warriors combined for 17 medals (five of them gold) at the Junior Olympic Track and Field Nationals in Buffalo and the AAU Junior Olympics in Orlando last week.

Locke, a Canyon Country resident, finished the trip with three gold medals and two silvers.

Her brother, Tyler, was the first-place finisher in the boys 10- to 13-year-old division.

--Sticking around: Don Vulich finished in 103rd place but that doesn't bother Sylmar resident. Instead, he laughed as he said he was the third- place finisher from the second 100 runners.

Vulich has shown he beat the odds after successfully rebounding from the bypass surgery he had last year.

The 49-year-old man looks as healthy as other runners, but what makes him stand out is a wooden stick which he has been carrying through races - including eight of his 15 L.A. Marathons - since 1992.

``It's kind of my gimmick,'' Vulich said. ``The way I see it is you wouldn't have come up to me out of all these people. It makes me stand out . . . No, seriously. My daughter and I started playing co-ed softball but we had to hit from the opposite side (of the plate). I started carrying it in races to practice my left-handed swing.''

Vulich's oldest son, Austin, also ran the race and finished with a personal best of just under 20 minutes.

--Happy campers: Among the runners were seven teen-agers from Scudder Camp, a Santa Clarita institution which houses teens who have been convicted of committing minor offenses.

Vince McGrath, who teaches social studies at the institution, started the running program three and half years ago and the feedback from the kids is gratifying.

``They're good kids that have done something bad in the past,'' said McGrath, who usually runs with the teens but was sidelined because he wasn't feeling well. ``We have gone to some races where the people kind of feel weird for having them around. They actually invite us back once they see that the kids are so well behaved.''

The group was led by John Glatz, 18, who crossed the finish line 39th overall with a time of 20:58.

Many members of the running community have noticed the good deed the camp is doing by allowing inmates to run in public events. The Santa Clarita Runners, among others, have donated money for the running program. The uniforms - with the team name ``Wildcats'' - were donated by the running group.

--Viking power: Former Monroe High and Moorpark College star cross country runner Sabino Beltran was a favorite to take home the overall title but was upset by the younger Lemus.

Beltran, 23, who reached the NCAA Division II cross country championships for University of Hawaii in 1999, is currently enrolled at San Luis Obispo but runs now only for enjoyment.

The 23-year-old native of Michoacan, Mexico, however, finished with his course-best at 16:33, two minutes faster then last week, when he finished second overall.

His fourth-place overall finish Thursday is an inspiration to current Monroe High of North Hills runners.

``I go back to Monroe and Moorpark to run with their runners,'' Beltran said. ``I go there to help them with their training.''

Omar Ortega, who recently graduated from Monroe High, was among the many runners Beltran has taken into the summer series. Ortega finished 10th overall with a time of 17:46.

Running with Beltran has helped the 18-year-old decide where to go to college after hearing many good things about Moorpark College from the former Raiders runner.

``The environment at Moorpark is very nice,'' Beltran said. ''It's more open and the campus is bigger.''

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The final race of College of the Canyons' summer cross country series was held Thursday.