|
Full Results (Men)
Full
Results (Women)
The CSUSM men’s and women’s
cross-country teams got their seasons started on the right foot on
Saturday at U.C. Irvine. The men finished 4th in the 20 team field,
while the women placed 7th.
Coming off one of the best seasons in program history, the Cougar
men picked up right where they left off. It took no time for star
runner Juan Mejia to shake the rust off. The senior took 8th place
with a time of 24:40.40. Though it’s just the first competition of
the season, Mejia is already in the ballpark of the CSUSM school
record of 24:29 for the 8k – a record he set in 2006.
Right behind him was Mike Crouch. There looks to be no sophomore
slump for last year’s freshman sensation, as Crouch took 10th with a
time of 24:47.
While Crouch was last year’s breakout newcomer, this year the title
might go to Alex Guadarama. In his first competition for the
Cougars, Guadarama took 27th with a strong early-season time of
25:42.
Rounding out the Cougars’ top-5 were Leo Elorza in 41st (26:10.70)
and Kyle Fox in 44th (26:11.80). Also competing for the Cougars were
Tony Guadagnini (26:20.90), Andrew Garai (26:45.80), Patrick
Fitzgerald (26:49.10), Miguel Vega (26:11.80), and Antonio Sanchez
(28:54.00).
On the women’s side, though the team lost its top two runners from
last season, they got off to a good start on Saturday.
Morgan Sjogren, whose work ethic has been praised all off-season by
Coach Steve Scott, moved seamlessly into a leadership role on the
squad. She placed a career-best 10th, running 18:27.30 in the 5k
race.
Freshman Jessica Sandoval got off to a strong start for the Cougars,
running 18:46.40 to finish 18th. Behind her was Whitney Patton, who
finished 29th with a time of 19:15.10.
Joy Leon, a freshman who contributed to the Cougar softball team in
the spring (fittingly, as a pinch runner), took 39th with a time of
19:26.20. Two more newcomers to the team, Suzanne Serimenti and
Lindsey McKown, ran 19:33.80 and 19:36.40 to finish 46th and 47th,
respectively.
Also competing for the Cougars were Jan Reinagel (19:54.60),
Stephanie Cook (20:35.10), Monika Valenzuela (20:40.00), Sim Carrano
(20:42.60), and Mallory Bawkey (21:02.40).
Next up for CSUSM Cross Country is next Saturday’s Aztec
Invitational.
|
