Kimberly Pena burst onto the women's cross country team in 2019, leading the way for the San Bernardino Valley College women's team from the start as a freshman out of Roosevelt High School in Eastvale. She won the first-ever Inland Empire Athletic Conference individual championship, destroying the field en route to helping SBVC win the team championship.

She earned a trip to the state championships, where she finished 14th, earning All-American honors in the process. After that amazing freshman year, Pena was bound to attract attention and move on. She made it official recently, signing to run for Sonoma State next fall. "I am incredibly proud of her," women's cross country coach Eric Abrams said. "This young lady has incredible work ethic. She will forever go down as the very first ever conference champion in any sport in the history of the Inland Empire Athletic Conference. I hope that her journey continues to prosper. Pena will begin classes in the fall at Sonoma State, about an hour away from her twin sister, who is attending Cal State East Bay.

Student successWomen’s soccer player Caitlyn Sauceda will continue her playing career next season at the University of Indianapolis. Sauceda was key performer both seasons at SBVC, not just during the team's 2019 postseason run. In 46 career games at SBVC, she scored 24 goals (seven game-winners) and added 16 assists, while being asked to play a holding midfielder role in most of the team's formations. She was a two-time All-Conference selection (being named the Pacific Coast Athletic Conference Offensive Player of the Year in 2018), two-time All-Region and All-State selection by the California Community Colleges Soccer Coaches Association, and a two-time selection to the All-West Region by the United Soccer Coaches.

She will join a University of Indianapolis team that finished 11-3-1 in the Great Lakes Conference and made a trip to the NCAA Division II Sweet 16. The Greyhounds, coached by Holly Cox, finished the season ranked No. 19 in the country in the final coaches' poll.

student successIrene Carter was a busy athlete during her time at San Bernardino Valley College. The Grand Terrace High School graduate was part of the SBVC track team in her first spring at SBVC. The next fall, she joined the SBVC volleyball team. And, briefly after that, she joined the women's basketball team for a short stint. But it was on the volleyball court where the 5-foot-9 middle was the most imposing. And that imposing frame will be headed back east to continue her career in the fall at NCAA Division 2 Livingstone College in North Carolina. Carter tallied 169 kills in two seasons at SBVC, helping to lead a much improved attack during her sophomore year.

During her freshman year, she converted 21 percent of her kill attempts in a lesser role. She earned her AA from SBVC this month in Liberal Arts, Social and Behavioral Sciences. And she remains active in her community helping other young athletes on their game.