RIVERSIDE, Calif. – Cal State Fullerton's men and women cross country squads both finished runner-up at the Highlander Invitational on Saturday morning at the Ag/Ops Course.
"It was a solid day for both squads as we had some outstanding performances," coach John Elders said.
The runner-up finish for both squads marks the third time this year that both the Titan men and women have finished either runner-up or won their respective events. Also, it's the first time since 2014 that the Fullerton men have placed in the top-two at three of their first four events.
With a shorter race than the past couple events, the men started their 6k course at 8 a.m. PT and Titan Sam Pimentel recorded his highest finish of the season as the sophomore placed third overall and completed the course with a time of 17:57.76.
"Sam Pimentel ran the best race of his young career leading the way with a scorching time of 17:57.8," Elder said.
Freshman Freek Van de Weerd continued to build on his best performance of the season at the West Region Preview with a seventh place finish (18:14.59) at today's event to put to Titans inside the top-10.
Jason Hillquist and Joe Casco rounded out the top-15 for Fullerton as Hillquist placed 12th overall with a time of 18:22.15 and Casco finished right behind his teammate with a time of 18:23.85 to place 13th.
Titans Jose Penaloza, Daniel Ramirez and Jorge Sanchez-Velazquez finished in the top-25 as they finished 23rd, 24th and 25th to put seven Fullerton runners inside the top-25. Gabe Toscano was the other Titan runner to finish in the top-25 as he placed 21st.
Fullerton completed the event with a team score of 51 and was second overall. UC Irvine (who finished first) was the only other school at the men's event to have seven runners in the top-25.
Following the men, the Titan women got their 5k underway at 8:30 a.m. and Brianna Jacklin led the way for the ladies as she recorded her third top-10 finish this year by placing sixth overall at the Highlander Invitational with a time of 17:42.42.
"Bri (Jacklin) became the third girl to run number one for us this season, highlighting the depth of our team," Elders said. "Her time was a personal best for a 5k."
Sierra Ungerman and Samathan Huerta resumed their model of consistency this season as both Titan runners finished in the top-10 as well. The senior, Ungermann, made her fourth-straight top-10 finish this season as she placed ninth overall (17:45.87) and Huerta continued her stellar freshman season by finishing 10th with a time of 17:46.31.
Titans Stephanie Ruiz (13th), Arianna Fuentes (16th) and Sandra Flores (19th) also placed in the top-20 for Fullerton as Fuentes recorded her highest finish of the season with a time of 18:10.14.
Stephanie Cortez (27th) and Nisreen Rizk (28th) also had strong showings at Saturday's event as they both recorded their highest finishes this season.
Overall, the Titan women finished the Highlander Invitational with a team score of 54 points and had six runners finish in the top-25.
"When the guys put it together on the same day we are going to be very competitive and the gals have run at a high level of consistency all season," Elders said. "After backing off our training these next two weeks we should be ready to go."
Up next for the Fullerton cross country team is the Titan Invitational on Friday at the Titan Track & Field Complex. The event will begin at 5:15 p.m. PT.
For more information and updates on the Titans, follow us on Twitter (@FullertonTFXC) and like our Facebook page (Cal St. Fullerton Track & Field & Cross Country).