FULLERTON, Calif. – With the Big West Cross Country Championships next Saturday, the Cal State Fullerton cross country squad had a few runners take part in the Titan Invitational at the Titan Track Complex on Friday.
"I'm really proud of how Gavin and Pam competed today," coach John Elders said. "Gavin crushed his PR and Pam ran her strongest race of the year. Both definitely earned their spot on the conference team. Shelby Hernandez Jr. ran a PR along with TJ Moffit (25:53) who because of a prior obligation ran a time trial on the course early this morning."
The meet was set to begin a 5 p.m. PT on Friday evening but due to hot weather in the Fullerton area both the women's and men's events were pushed back a half hour.
Three Fullerton runners participated in the women's event and Pamela Pelayo collected her best finish of the year with a 15th place finish and a time of 18.38.78 to be the top-finisher for the Titans.
Kevelin Huerta also had her best finish of the season as the sophomore placed 25th overall with a time of 19:07.97. Emily Ruiz rounded out the trio of runners for Fullerton as she participated in her first event this season and placed 44th (20:25.46).
In the men's event, the Titans had seven runners compete and Gavin Bradley was the top-finisher for the men as he placed 3rd among Division I runners with a time of 25:22.50.
Shelby Hernandez Jr. ran in his first event of the season and was the second Titan to cross the finish line with a time of 25:53.28 to place 6th among Division I runners.
Fullerton's Martin Montes and Erick Juarez also took part in the Titan Invitational. Montes completed the course in 26:34.43 to place 11th, while the redshirt-freshman Juarez placed 12th with a time of 26:36.37.
Robert Miyoshi made his first appearance of the season on Friday and posted a personal record of 25:57.07 to place seventh among Division I runners.
Prior to the event, coach Elders said the top-finished from the women's and men's event for the Titans would secure the final spot on the roster for the Big West Cross Country Championships which means Pelayo and Bradley are headed to Hawaii.
"Now that the roster is set it's time to turn our focus on the Big West Championships," coach Elders said.
With a full week off to rest, the Fullerton cross country squad will travel to the great state of Hawaii for the Big West Cross Country Championships next Saturday. The meet takes place in Kahuku, Hawaii, at the Kahuku Golf Course and will start at 10 a.m. PT.
For more information and updates on the Titan cross country team, follow us on Twitter (@FullertonTFXC) and like our Facebook page (Cal St. Fullerton Track & Field & Cross Country).