San Diego, Calif. – With an 11th place finish Jennifer Sandoval earned her second consecutive second team All-Mountain West honor and led the San José State women's cross country team to a fifth place finish at the 2018 Mountain West Cross Country Championships on Friday morning.
"It was warm today," head coach Brad Wick said. "The course was hilly and overall it was a tough environment to compete in, but our team ran strong and I am very pleased with our overall effort, especially Jenny."
The Fontana, Calif., junior extended her streak of being the first Spartan to cross the finish line. She has raced 16 times in an SJSU singlet and has never been beaten by a teammate. Sandoval stopped the clock in 21:08.6 and by virtue of finishing 11th was named a second-team all-MW performer. At last year's championship she finished 14th to earn her first all-conference honor.
"Jenny ran like a superstar," Wick said. "She executed the plan really well and had a great finish against tough competition."
Kai Bohannon was the second member of the team to finish. In 28th place, the sophomore stopped the clock in 22:00.7.
"Kai put herself in textbook position for nearly the entire race," Wick said. "I think she just ran out of energy and struggled the last mile. She was poised to have a second-team race (finishing between eighth and 14th place), but lost about 13 or 14 spots over the last mile. We all have one of those races where things don't end up the way we want and this was one of those for Kai."
Senior Jeanette Zambrano came home third for the Spartans in a time of 22:18.8 and in 34th place.
In 40th place, Evelin Meza had her best finish of the season and ran a 22:35.3. Four seconds later, Adilene Aldapa finished with a 22:39.9 and in 43rd place.
"Evelin had a good a good day, which I expected because she has been right there all year. I was happy that she went with a good pack and didn't let them go away. I also want to point out that Jeanette ran one of her usual strong races," Wick said.
Savanna Perez was 51st and Camilla Handon was 61st in 22:51.1 and 23:21.5, respectively.
With 33 points, New Mexico won the team championship. Boise State was second (35 points) and Air Force finished in third (105 points).
Individually, New Mexico had the top-three finishers. Wein Kelati, Ednah Kurgat and Charlotte Prouse finished in 19:43.3, 20:07.4 and 20:11.3, respectively.
The Spartans next competition will be on November 9, in Sacramento, Calif., in the 2018 NCAA West Regional Championships.
2018 Mountain West Cross Country Championships
Friday, 16 October 2018
San Diego, Calif. – Balboa Park
Final Results – Women's 6k Race
Team Results
1. New Mexico (33 pts.)
2. Boise State (35 pts.)
3. Air Force (105 pts.)
4. Utah State (126 pts.)
5. San José State (149 pts.)
6. Nevada (155 pts.)
7. Colorado State (155 pts.)
8. Wyoming (196 pts.)
9. Fresno State (292 pts.)
10. San Diego State (307 pts.)
11. UNLV (335 pts.)
Individual Results (Top-5 of 91)
1. Weini Kelati (New Mexico) – 19:49.3
2. Ednah Kurgat (New Mexico)– 20:07.4
3. Charlotte Prouse (New Mexico)– 20:11.3
4. Allie Ostrander (Boise State) – 20:14.3
5. Jaci Smith (Air Force) – 20:40.4
San José State Results
11. Jennifer Sandoval – 20:08.6
28. Kai Bohannon – 22:00.7
34. Jeanette Zambrano – 22:18.8
40. Evelin Meza – 22:35.3
43. Adilene Aldapa – 22:39.9
51. Savanna Perez – 22:51.1
61. Camilla Hanson – 23:21.5