Sept. 23, 2015
SAN JOSE, Calif. -- The San José State University men's and women's cross country season continues this Saturday, September 26 at the 42nd edition of the Stanford Invitational on the Stanford Golf Course.
The 37-team field includes the following Division I schools: Baylor, Cal Poly, Cal State Northridge, Cal Berkeley, Fresno State, North Dakota State, Sacramento State, University of San Francisco, San José State, Stanford, UC Davis, UC Irvine, UC Riverside and UC Santa Barbara.
The Spartans women's entries for the 6K race, which start at 9:50 a.m. PT, include: Adilene Aldapa, Jennifer Beckingham, Ashley Cahalan, Melanie Fujiwara, Lalida Maokhamphiou, Karina Nunes, Diana Orozco and Jeanette Zambrano, who is competing for the first time this season. The top-seven lineup will be a meet time decision by cross country coach Brad Wick.
The addition of Zambrano is expected to help bolster the women's squad.
"It should be huge for the girl's squad. It's one more runner up there close to Jennifer (Beckingham). Although she may not be 100% fitness wise, it'll be a good indication to see where she's at this point and it should really help out our top-five," said Wick.
The men's 8K race is scheduled to start at 10:30 a.m. PT with the same lineup as the first two meets this year: Ben Branagh, Jannik Ernst, Josue Gonzalez, Craig Huff, Jose Piña, Raul Rodarte, and Huruy Zeratsion.
The third-year coach is looking forward to the competition at the Stanford Invitational.
"The Stanford Invitational will be our first meet of more than five or six teams this season. Every team has at least a couple of strong individuals so it'll be the strongest race we've been in. It's a bigger race so you get that feel of what its going to be like at the West Region meet or at the Mountain West Conference meet as far as the bodies around you during the race. Its just one more stepping stone to prepare for the meets at the end of the year," said Wick.
Click here for results to the Stanford Invitational.
LAST TIME OUT:
The Spartans last competed on September 11 in the Fresno State Invitational at Woodward Park. The men's team finished the 6K course in third place out of five Division I schools and the women were fourth out of six in the 4200m race.
TEAM AND INDIVIDUAL RECOGNITIONS:
The men's team is currently ranked #14 in the West Region in the USTFCCCA NCAA Division I Regional Cross Country rankings.
Junior Ben Branagh was named The Mountain West Mountain West Conference Cross Country Athlete of the Week on September 15 following his second place finish at the Fresno State Invitational. It was the first such honor for Branagh.
SOLID START TO THE SEASON BY THE FIRST YEAR RUNNERS:
On the men's side, freshman Jose Piña finished third at the Fresno State Invitational, barely being edged out by Branagh at the finish line. In the first two meets of the season, Piña was the second best finisher among the San José State men's runners.
First-year transfer Raul Rodarte was the third best finisher among the Spartan men's squad, improving one spot from the seasoning opening USF Invitational.
On the women's side, freshmen Adilene Aldapa and Ashley Cahalan both finished in the top-20 for the second consecutive meet as they were also the second and third best Spartan finishers.
LAST YEAR AT THE STANFORD INVITATIONAL:
The men's team finished 12th out of 17 Division I schools as Josue Gonzalez led the way by crossing the finish line 20th overall (15th among DI runners) with a time of 24:19 which he was recognized for as the MW Conference Cross Country Athlete of the Week.
The women's squad finished 16th out of 21 Division I schools led by Jennifer Beckingham's 71st place finish (51st among DI runners) with a time of 22:36.
SOCIAL MEDIA:
Keep up with your San José State men's and women's cross country teams 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