BREA, Calif. – Cal State Fullerton kicked off the 2017 cross country season on a warm Saturday morning at Carbon Canyon Regional Park in Brea, California, and swept the men's 8K and women's 5K races. The Titans were led by junior Sam Pimentel on the men's side and freshman Wendi Leos in the women's race.
The men's squad took first place comfortably with 49 points overall while Loyola Marymount came in second place with 70 points. On the women's side, the Titans narrowly edged Loyola Marymount in the team standings as they scored 34 points while the Lions finished with 36 in second place.
"I'm really happy with our teams," head coach John Elders said. "They opened the year up really strong and we're excited to get the wins on both sides. It's the first step of many to prepare for championship season but that's definitely a positive way to get things going."
Pimentel led the way for CSF with a third-place finish overall and an 8K time of 25:26.5. Right behind him was sophomore Jorge Sanchez in fourth place with a time of 25:29.7. Sophomore Freek van de Weerd's time of 26:09.7 was good for 12th place overall and third among Titan runners. Freshman Jacob Smith clocked a time of 26:13.5 in 16th place and senior Joe Casco took 20th place with a time of 26:16.9 to round out the Titan scoring.
.@pimentelsam80 (25:26.5) crosses the finish line 1st for CSF and leads the men's team to a 1st-place finish! #TusksUp pic.twitter.com/vwQsXi774O
— Titan Track & Field (@FullertonTFXC) September 2, 2017
The women's squad had five student-athletes finish in the top-15, led by Leos who took second place overall with a 5K time of 18:09.3. Sophomore Sam Huerta took fifth place in 18:33.0. Freshman Trinity Ruelas' time of 18:37.4 was good for seventh place overall and third among Titan runners. Freshman Gabriella De La Rosa and sophomore Sandra Flores rounded out the Titan scoring as De La Rosa finished in 14th place with a time of 19:10.9 while Flores' time of 19:11.8 was good for 15th place. All eight Titan competitors finished in the top 30.
Wendi Leos led the way for CSF as she earned a 2nd-place finish overall with a 5K time of 18:09.3. #TusksUp pic.twitter.com/lhxov3cN48
— Titan Track & Field (@FullertonTFXC) September 2, 2017
Next up for the Titans is the UC Riverside Invitational on Sep. 16 at 7:30 a.m. PT.
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