Sept. 11, 2015
Fresno, Calif. -- San José State University women's cross country team finished fourth out of six Division I schools at the Fresno State Invitational on Friday.
With the day time temperature expected to climb over 100 degrees, the race started at 8:45 a.m. in mid-70 degrees temperature in Woodward Park.
The Spartans were led by Jennifer Beckingham, a graduate student, for the second consecutive race by completing the 4200m course in 14:45.6 to finish 12th among the Division I runners.
Freshmen Adilene Aldapa and Ashley Cahalan followed their strong debut from last week with another solid showing with times of 14:55.5 and 15:01.2, good for 16th and 20th place. Senior Lalida Maokhamphiou was ten seconds behind finishing 23rd.
"Overall, it was a nice job by the team as they packed it up in the middle with Adilene, Ashley and Lalida," said Spartans cross country coach Brad Wick referring to the tactic of having the team's fastest runners race near the front, while the rest of the team runs in smaller groups or packs that are similar in ability. In each pack, a leader will push the pace so others could follow and hang on with the pack as long as possible.
Junior Karina Nunes was the fifth scorer as she improved her time by 18 seconds from last year's Fresno State Invitational crossing the line at 15:32.8.
Junior Melanie Fujiwara was the first displacer for the Spartans finishing 33rd with a time of 15:39.8, which was a 23 second improvement from a year ago at the Fresno State Invitational. Senior Diana Orozco was the second displacer finishing 36th (15:57.9).
"Karina, Melanie and Diana ran as a pack for most of the race, which was the plan," said Wick.
Sacramento State's Chloe Berlioux was the top collegiate finisher with a time of 14:13.9.
After competing in two meets within a span of six days, the Spartans will have their next race in two weeks on September 26 at the Stanford Invitational.
Fresno State Invitational Women's Cross Country 4200m Run Woodward Park, Fresno, Calif. September 11, 2015 | ||
TEAM RESULTS | TOTAL SCORE | |
1. Cal Poly | 36 | |
2. Stanford | 49 | |
3. Sacramento State | 79 | |
4. San José State | 99 | |
5. Fresno State | 115 | |
6. Cal State Bakersfield | 181 | |
TOP INDIVIDUALS (Division I Runners) | SCHOOL | TIME |
1. Chloe Berlioux | Sacramento State | 14:13.9 |
2. Ashley Windsor | Cal Poly | 14:16.6 |
3. Amanda Garcia | Sacramento State | 14:20.4 |
4. Peyton Bilo | Cal Poly | 14:21.2 |
5. Mackenzie Landa | Fresno State | 14:28.3 |
SAN JOSÉ STATE FINISHERS | TIME | |
14:45.6 | ||
16. Adilene Aldapa | 14:55.5 | |
20. Ashley Cahalan | 15:01.2 | |
15:11.5 | ||
31. Karina Nunes | 15:32.8 | |
(33.) Melanie Fujiwara | 15:39.8 | |
(36.) Diana Orozco | 15:57.9 | |
Social Media
Keep up with your San José State women's cross country team this season on social media!
Get highlights and upcoming events via Twitter by following @SanJoseStateTF
Get highlights and see post-meet pictures on Instagram by following @sjsudistance
The team is active on Facebook. See the workout and meet videos via facebook.com/sjsudistance