Madison, Wis. – In its first time competing in one of the nation's elite cross country races, the San José State women's cross country team finished in 16th place and were led by junior Jenny Sandoval and sophomore Kai Bohannon, who both finished among the top-40 individuals.
"Finishing 16th is where we expected to slot in a race with so many top caliber teams," said head coach Brad Wick. "There were a couple of teams we felt we should have finished in front of, but we beat some top-level competition including Nevada and Cal. We came out here to see where we are at and we pretty much performed as I expected, which is good."
First to stop the clock among the Spartans was Sandoval. The Fontana, Calif., native finished in 35th place in a time of 20:58:2, her fastest 6k-time this season.
Right behind Sandoval was Bohannon. In her quickest time this season, she ran a 21:01.3 and was in 40th place.
"Jenny and Kai did a good job of working together and finishing up front," said Wick. "We also had a pack of Jeanette (Zambrano), Addie (Aldapa) and Savanna (Perez) who did a nice job throughout the race. Addie moved up throughout the race and helped out Savanna, and Jeanette was a nice number three for us."
Zambrano, a senior out of Garden Grove, Calif., was third for the Spartans and 105th overall in a time of 21:47.0. She was 10 seconds faster than her best time in 2018.
Aldapa who hails from Santa Barbara, Calif., was 125th in 21:58.3, nearly 30 second faster than her season best, and Perez, a transfer from Sacramento State, was 137th in 22:04.5.
Evelin Meza was 158th in 22:23.5, a season best, and Camilla Hanson was 189th in a time of 22:42.5.
With 51 points, Arkansas won the team race. Oregon was second (71 points) and Indiana finished in third (166 points).
Overall Oregon's Jessica Hull, who crossed the line in 20:03.2 won the race, one of three collegiate women's races contested on the day.
Two runners, who did not make the trip to Madison, but competed at the Santa Clara Bronco Invitational in Sunnyvale, were Carmen Contreras and Briana Valencia. Contreras ran a 22:12.7 finishing in 119th place and Valencia was 182nd in 23:25.8.
The Spartans next competition will be on October 26 in San Diego, Calif., in the 2018 Mountain West Championships.
2018 Wisconsin Pre-Nationals
Saturday, 13 October 2018
Madison, Wisconsin
Final Results – Cardinal 6k
Team Results (Top-10 of 35)
1. Arkansas (51pts.)
2. Oregon (71 pts.)
3. Indiana (166 pts.)
4. BYU (175 pts.)
5. North Carolina State (180 pts.)
6. Portland (242 pts.)
7. Minnesota (260 pts.)
8. Syracuse (269 pts.)
9. Northern Arizona (293 pts.)
10. Colorado (325 pts.)
16. San José State (442 pts.)
Individual Results (Top-5 of 35)
1. Jessica Hull (Oregon) – 20:03.2
2. Katrina Robinson (Arkansas)– 20:09.4
3. Aubrey Roberts (Northwestern)– 20:10.0
4. Erica Birk (BYU) – 20:12.2
5. Bethany Hasz (Minnesota) – 20:18.3
San José State Results
35. Jennifer Sandoval – 20:58.2
40. Kai Bohannon – 21:01.3
105. Jeanette Zambrano – 21:47.0
125. Adilene Aldapa – 21:58.3
137. Savanna Perez – 22:04.5
158. Evelin Meza – 22:23.5
189. Camilla Hanson – 22:42.5
