August 30, 2013

Women's Cross Country Sixth At USF Invitational

Aug 31, 2013

SAN FRANCISCO -- Rebecca Garcia scored inside the top-25 individually and San JosÃ© State finished sixth out of eight Division I teams at the USF Invitational on August 31.

The 5K race was the season opener for the Spartans, and it was a chance for new head coach Jeff Petersmeyer to see the team in competition for the first time.

"I was impressed by the women's team today," Petersmeyer said. "The team stepped up. They were really gritty out there and I thought Rebecca ran well."

Garcia led San JosÃ© State, finishing the race through a damp Golden Gate Park in 19:03.0. She finished in 26th place, scoring 24 for the Spartans' team total.

Aylin Mejia followed with a time of 19:28.2 good for 33rd. Lalida Maokhamphiou was just over a second behind Mejia with a time of 19:29.9, good for 34th place.

Alexandra Seda (19:54.8, 46th) and freshman Karina Nunes (20:09.9, 48th) rounded out the five scorers for San JosÃ© State.

California's Kelsey Santisteban took first place with a time of 17:26.1. The next five runners to cross the finish line were in a Stanford uniform and the Cardinal was first place on the team leader board with a total score of 20.

"Today was a good chance to see where we're at," said Petersmeyer. "Now we know what we have to build on."

The Spartans' next competition is at the Fresno Invitational on September 14.

Team Results:

1. Stanford 20

2. California 54

3. San Francisco 85

4. BYU 96

5. Pacific 146

6. San Jose State 171

7. Santa Clara 175

8. CSU Northridge

SJSU Results: