Sept. 5, 2015
Complete Meet Results
San Francisco - Junior Ben Branagh and freshman Jose Piña led the San José State men's cross country team to a second place finish out of six Division I schools at the 2015 season opening University of San Francisco Invitational.
Branagh finished in sixth place with a time of 24:54.3 at the 8K course in Golden Gate park for his second career top-10 finish.
"Ben from the get go stuck his nose up there with the leaders and gut it out to have a great result. It was great to see. He's ready for the next step," said Spartans cross country coach Brad Wick.
Piña made his Spartan debut by finishing in 14th place (25:14.2).
"Jose ran a sound tactical race and put a good effort forward and showed he's fit and ready for a great season," said Wick.
Senior Jannik Ernst placed 17th just as he did in last year's USF Invitational. It was his fifth career top-20 finish.
Raul Rodarte and Josue Gonzalez rounded out the five scorers by finishing 29th and 30th as San José State edged out St. Mary's 80 points to 85, for second place.
"This meet was a great starting point and the team can see where we can improve and we can still get a lot better," said the Spartans coach.
California's Chris Walden won the race with a time of 24:25.5 leading the Cal men's team to a first place finish as they placed 10 runners in the top 13.
The Spartans have a quick turnaround as the next race is the Fresno State Invitational on Friday, September 11.
"With today's race and next week's race so close together, the practices won't be as intense next week. We'll do a work out on Tuesday and make sure we're healed up from this competition. We'll come back next week and put a good effort forward. It will be another good learning experience," said Wick.
University of San Francisco Invitational Men's Cross Country 8K Run Speedway Meadow, San Francisco, Calif. September 5, 2015 | ||
TEAM RESULTS | TOTAL SCORE | |
1. California | 23 | |
2. San José State | 80 | |
3. St. Mary's | 85 | |
4. San Francisco | 96 | |
5. Santa Clara | 106 | |
6. Cal State Northridge | 148 | |
TOP INDIVIDUALS | SCHOOL | TIME |
1. Chris Walden | California | 24:25.5 |
2. Ryan Driscoll | San Francisco | 24:26.7 |
3. John Lawson | California | 24:29.8 |
4. Garrett Corcoran | California | 24:39.9 |
5. Matt Leach | San Francisco | 24:47.7 |
6. Ben Branagh | San José State | 24:54.3 |
7. Trent Brendel | California | 24:59.4 |
8. Steve Correa | California | 24.59.7 |
SAN JOSÉ STATE FINISHERS | TIME | |
6. Ben Branagh | 24:54.3 | |
14. Jose Piña | 25:14.2 | |
17. Jannik Ernst | 25:29.5 | |
29. Raul Rodarte | 26:13.5 | |
30. Josue Gonzalez | 26:14.0 | |
(37.) Huruy Zeratsion | 26:28.5 | |
(38). Craig Huff | 26:30.7 | |
Social Media
Keep up with your San José State 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