The Cougars Online -- Cal State San Marcos Athletics

Mejia Breaks School Record as Cougar Cross-Country Shines at U.C. Riverside Invitational
9/29/2007

Saturday was a terrific day for Cougar Cross-Country, from both a team and individual perspective.

On the team side, both the men’s and women’s squads finished in the top-5 in a tough field at the U.C. Riverside Invitational. The men took 3^rd out of 17 teams, while the women placed 5^th out of 22 teams.

But perhaps more impressive was the individual accomplishment of Juan Mejia. Competing in his third event of the season, Mejia ran 24:15.90, breaking the University’s record for the 8k – a record he set at this same event last season when he ran 24:29.40. The senior finished 2^nd in the field of over 150 runners.

If not for Mejia’s heroics, it would have been a record-setting day for another Cougar. Fellow senior Sergio Gonzalez ran 24:25.90, good for 4^th place at the event. It’s the second-best mark in the history of Cougar Cross-Country.

Also helping the Cougar men to their excellent finish were Patrick Fitzgerald (26^th; 25:52.40), Alex Guadarama (29^th; 26:00.10), Anthony Guadagnini (35^th; 26:11.50), Kyle Fox (41^st; 26:22.50), and Leo Elorza (53^rd; 26:37.80).

While no records were set on the women’s side, the 5^th-place finish is a very positive one for the team.

As she has in the first two events of the season, junior Morgan Sjogren led the team on Saturday. She placed 12^th, running 17:49.50 – the fourth-best time in school history.

But it was the team’s depth that got them the top-5 finish. Sophomore Whitney Patton was not far behind Sjogren, placing 17^th with a time of 18:04.00. A few seconds later, freshman Jessica Sandoval crossed the finish line with a time of 18:07.10, good for 19^th.

Also competing for the Cougar women were Joy Leon (33^rd; 18:34.20), Kristen Simek (45^th; 18:51.60), Lindsey McKown (46^th; 18:53.50), and Stephanie Cook(51^st; 18:59.20).

Both the men’s and women’s competitions were won by host school U.C. Riverside. Mark Currell of Southern Utah took the men’s individual title home, while Riverside’s Brenda Martinez won the women’s event.

CSUSM Cross-Country will continue its march to Nationals on October 6^th, when the women will compete at the Vanguard Invitational and the men will be at the UCSD Invitational.