Oct. 27, 2017
Albuquerque, N.M. â€" Building on a their success during the regular season, the San José State women's cross country team enjoyed its finest finish in four years in the Mountain West tying for fourth place finish at the 2017 Mountain West Cross Country Championship. SJSU and Air Force each scored 144 point in the race.
"We came into this championship with the idea that we wanted to finish in fourth or fifth place…mission accomplished," head coach Brad Wick said after the race. "Remember we probably give up 10 seconds per runner to teams who regularly train and compete at elevation. This conference is underrated on a national scale despite having a third of the team's nationally ranked, so to be able to close the gap on those programs is huge for us and what we are trying to accomplish here at San José State."
The Spartans best placing in the Mountain West Championship meet before this year, was an eighth place finish in the 2015.
"We did an exquisite job of not going out to aggressively," Wick said. "Everyone ran under control and moved up throughout the race."
Jennifer Sandoval led the charge with a 14th place finish (21:22.41), earning her second-team All-Mountain West recognition. She is the first Spartan women's cross country runner to receive all-conference honors in the five years SJSU has competed in the Mountain West.
Second across the line for San José State was Jeanette Zambrano, in 24th place in 21:44.76. Kai Bohannon was 30th with a time of 21:56.66. Adilene Aldapa ran a 22:06.27 good for 35th place.
Carmen Contreras was the last Spartan to score finishing in 49th place in 22:35.05 and in 74th place was Camilla Hanson in 24:11.26.
"Here is how important sticking to the plan was," Wick said. "Jenny stayed under control throughout the race and was able to pick runners off down the stretch to earn that second team honor. But what got us into a tie for fourth was Carmen's effort, which I think was her best ever. She picked of a runner or two at the end, which ended up being the difference between four, fifth or sixth place."
New Mexico's Ednah Kurgat was the individual champion (19:58.77), one of four Lobos in the top-5, and led her squad to its 10th consecutive 2017 Mountain West Cross Country Championship.
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
Women's 6k Championship
Team Results
1. New Mexico (22 pts.)
2. Boise State (50 pts.)
3. Utah State (73 pts.)
T4. San José State (144 pts.)
T4. Air Force (144 pts.)
6. Nevada (145 pts.)
7. Colorado State (179 pts.)
8. Wyoming (204 pts.)
9. UNLV (282 pts.)
10. Fresno State (309 pts.)
Individual Results
1. Ednah Kurgat (UNM) â€" 19:58.77
2. Weini Kelati (UNM) â€" 20:11.63
3. Charlotte Prouse (UNM) â€" 20:14.67
4. Allie Ostrander (BSU) â€" 20:27.83
5. Alice Wright (UNM) â€" 20:54.87
6. Alyssa Snyder (USU) â€" 20:55.40
7. Emily Venters (BSU) â€" 20:55.60
8. Minttu Hukka (BSU) â€" 20:59.76
9. Jaci Smith (AFA) â€" 21:12.27
10. Tylee Newman (USU) â€" 21:19.67
San José State Results
14. Jennifer Sandoval â€" 21:22.41
24. Jeanette Zambrano â€" 21:44.76
30. Kai Bohannon â€" 21:56.66
35. Adilene Aldapa â€" 22:06.27
49. Carmen Contreras â€" 22:35.05
74. Camilla Hanson â€" 24:11.26