Oct. 27, 2017
Albuquerque, N.M. â€" Hurry Zeratsion was the first San José State men's cross country runner to finish, coming across the line in 39th place, and led the Spartans to a seventh place finish in the 2017 Mountain West Cross Country Championships on Friday morning.
"We ran really tough today," head coach Brad Wick said after the race. "Our goal was to stay focused, just grind away and fight to the finish. The teams in the top half of this conference are all nationally ranked and all run at elevation. We brought a team that is pretty inexperienced in races this big and at this elevation (over 5,000 feet), so I'm really pleased with our effort."
Zeratsion, the only Spartan to have competed in a previous Mountain West Cross Country Championships, ran his best time in three attempts with a 25:13.07.
Collin De Julio, the second Spartan to cross the line, came home in 46th place with a 25:43.69. Javier Ubaldo ran a 25:54.95 and was 49th. Charlie Pope and Nicholas Liebmann were 51st and 52nd in times of 25:59.01 and 26:15.31, respectively. Mario Perez competed the course in 26:33.70 and 55th place.
"I think this effort bodes well for our future," Wick said. "Remember, we didn't have Josue (Gonzalez) today or our two redshirts (Jose Piña and Craig Huff). Some of our guys who might not have had this chance, to run at altitude and in such a competitive race, got that chance today. When we go to Regionals in a couple of weeks and this experience will pay dividends."
Colorado State's Mock Jerrell was the individual champion (23:49.74), one of four Rams in the top-10, and led his squad to the 2017 Mountain West Cross Country Championship with 31 points.
The Spartans next competition is at the NCAA Regional Championships in Seattle, Wash., on November 10.
2017 Mountain West Cross Country Championships
UNM North Golf Course â€" Albuquerque, N.M.
27 October 2017
Men's 8k Championship
Team Results
1. Colorado State (31 pts.)
2. Air Force (59 pts.)
3. Boise State (64 pts.)
4. Utah State (93 pts.)
5. New Mexico (97 pts.)
6. Wyoming (179 pts.)
7. San Jose State (205 pts.)
8. Fresno State (251 pts.)
Individual Results
1. Jerrell Mock (CSU) â€" 23:49.74
2. Cole Rockhold (CSU) â€" 23:50.59
3. Dillon Maggard (USU) â€" 23:54.45
4. Andrew Johnston (AFA) â€" 23:54.99
5. Eric Hamer (CSU) â€" 23:56.77
6. Miler Haller (BSU) â€" 23:57.80
7. Josh Kerr (UNM) â€" 24:01.47
8. Grant Fischer (CSU) â€" 24:03.66
9. Mickey Davey (AFA) â€" 24:09.60
10. Jacob Bilvado (AFA) â€" 24:13.68
San José State Results
39. Huruy Zeratsion â€" 25:13.07
46. Collin De Julio â€" 25:43.69
49. Javier Ubaldo â€" 25:54.95
51. Charlie Pope â€" 25:59.01
52. Nicholas Liebmann â€" 26:15.31
55. Mario Perez â€" 26:33.70