Nov. 11, 2016
Sacramento, Calif. --- Jose Piña led the way with a top-10 finish and the San José State men's cross country team finished in 11th place out of 29 teams at the NCAA Division I West Regional in Sacramento."Finishing in the top-half of this meet is a great result," said Spartans' head cross country coach Brad Wick. "Jose might have ran the race of his life and we had some other guys really show what they are capable of."Piña finished the 10K course in 29:54.3, good for eighth place in the field of 193 individuals. The sophomore was announced as an All-West Region honoree following the race, and depending on the outcome of the team qualifiers, is in position to move onto nationals next week in Indianapolis, Ind."It is a very difficult task to make it as an individual to the cross country national championship," Wick said.Craig Huff finished in 57th with a time of 30:46.3, while Huruy Zeratsion crossed the finish line in 31:13.5, good for 74th place. San José State scored 340 team points for the 11th place result."As a team competed really well," Wick added. "We beat some really good teams out there and we are right on the cusp of beating the teams in that next rung."Stanford took first place in the meet with a total score of 75, followed by Portland with 90 and UCLA with 112. Oregon's Edward Cheserek took first place with a time of 29:23.7.Piña's NCAA championship future should be decided by Monday when the team lists for the national championship are finalized.TOP-5 TEAMS
- Stanford 75
- Portland 90
- UCLA 112
- Oregon 122
- Washington State 143
SJSU TEAM SCORE
- San José State 340
INDIVIDUAL RESULTS
1. Edward Cheserek, Oregon, 29:23.7; 2. Matthew Eaton, Oregon, 29:44.9; 3. Fred Huxham, Washington, 29:47.2; 4. Alex Short, San Francisco, 29:47.8; 5. Ferdinand Edman, UCLA; 8. Jose Piña, San José State, 29:54.3; 57. Craig Huff, San José State, 30:46.3; 74. Huruy Zeratsion, San José State, 31:13.5; 90. Ben Branagh, San José State, 31:43.0; 115. Josue Gonzalez, San José State, 32:12.9; 133. Raul Rodarte, San José State, 32:31.6; 176. Evaristo Mateo, San José State, 33:53.7.