SACRAMENTO, Calif. – Cal State Fullerton cross country competed at the Capital Cross Challenge on Saturday morning in Sacramento. The men's squad took fourth place overall in the 8,000-meter race while the women's team earned a ninth-place finish in the 6,000-meter race.
The men's squad totaled 138 points in fourth place and were tops among Big West teams. Chico State won with 70 points, Cal Poly Pomona earned a runner-up finish with 87 points and Loyola Marymount finished in third place with 122 points. Sacramento State rounded out the top five with 204 points.
"The men ran solid, it wasn't our best day but it was solid, we didn't have Joe Casco so that hurt our depth a little bit," head coach John Elders said. "For us being a little short-handed, I thought it was a good day for us and something that we can continue to build on and help our confidence."
The women's team tallied 198 points in ninth place, led once again by freshman Wendi Leos who took seventh place overall with a time of 21:00.5. San Jose State won the women's competition with 62 points and Nevada took second place with 82 points. The Titans were second among Big West Teams as UC Davis finished in eighth place with 183 points.
"Wendi and Sam ran well, as expected, we expect them to be in the top group and they were," Elders said. "We just have too big of a gap between Wendi and Sam and then the rest of the team. When we get to a level where we all stay closer together, that's when the team will be a force to be reckoned with. These last couple races haven't been indicative of what our talent is so we'll make some adjustments and get ready for the next race."
Freshman Jacob Smith was the top finisher for the Titans, clocking an 8K time of 24:50.3, good for 20th place overall. Juniors Joshua Silva and Samuel Pimentel finished in 30th and 31st place, respectively, clocking times of 25:01.4 and 25:04.4. Sophomore Jorge Sanchez's time of 25:16.1 was good for 39th place. Senior Danny Ramirez was the fifth scorer for the Titans, clocking a time of 25:24.8 that placed him 50th overall.
"Jake (Smith) ran well and that was a big positive, he's going to be good and we are excited about his future, long term and short term," Elders said. "Danny Ramirez had his best race in a long time, he's come back from a few injuries over the last few years so to see him start to come around is great for him and for the team."
Leos was the team's top finisher for the third time in three races this season. Just behind Leos was sophomore Sam Huerta who clocked a 6K time of 21:13.9 in ninth place. Junior Brianna Jacklin's time of 22:15.8 was good for 49th place overall. Sophomore Sandra Flores clocked a time of 22:35.5 in 67th place. Freshman Trinity Ruelas was the fifth and final scorer for the Titans with a time of 22:45.4 in 76th place, finishing just ahead of junior Gabriella De La Rosa in 78th place (22:46.1).
Next up for the Titans is Bronco Invitational in Sunnyvale, California, on Oct. 14.
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