EUREKA, Calif. – Shasta College's Grace Southern won the women's Golden Valley Conference title at the GVC Championships at College of the Redwoods on Friday.

Southern, a sophomore from Middletown, completed the 5,000-meter course (3.1 miles) in 19 minutes, 19 seconds, finishing nearly 3 minutes ahead of second-place finisher Alandra Swangler of Butte College.

"Winning the GVC Championships was made possible because of tough training alongside terrific teammates, and with the constant support of our coaches," Southern said. "Yes, we are running to better ourselves, but also to better each other. That's what it's all about."

Shasta College's Marcus Francescut did not finish the men's race. He was leading when he had a lower leg injury during the race, said Shasta cross-country coach Anthony Williams.

It's the second GVC crown Southern won, capturing the women's title in April 2021 when the cross-country season was pushed back to spring due to COVID and gained a free year of eligibility. Southern was third at the GVC Championships as a freshman in 2019.

Southern won the other two conference races earlier this year at College of the Siskiyous and Butte. In the first race of the season, Southern was fifth at the NorCal Preview and has since dropped her time by nearly 2 minutes.

She heads to the NorCal Regionals at Sierra College in Rocklin on Friday with a bid for the CCCAA State Championships looming on Nov. 20.