COLFAX, Wash. – San José State senior Jennifer Sandoval has shined all season long but still needed an impressive showing at the NCAA West Regional in order to qualify for next week's NCAA Championships.
She got just that, finishing inside the top-10 against some of the best in the west at Friday's race in Colfax. Sandoval cruised to a 10th place finish with a time of 20:09.8 in the 6k, her best mark of the season thus far.
She will be the first-ever Spartan to compete at the NCAA Women's Cross Country Championships.
"Jenny ran another outstanding race," said head coach Brad Wick. "She was determined to put herself in the best position to go to nationals and she did just that. She was in the top-20 the entire race and kept picking people off one by one in the last kilometer to finish in 10th. Making it to nationals in cross country as an individual is not an easy task and she should be very proud of her accomplishment."
Sandoval's showing led the Spartans to a 13th place finish in a field of 35 teams. It was a solid day for the entire program as the men's team finished in 17th.
It was another senior, Jose Piña, who paced the men's side, finishing in 27th place with a mark of 30:14.4 in the 10k. The 10k was the team's longest race of the 2019 campaign.
We ?? you, @pinajose64.
— SJSU Track & Field/Cross Country (@SanJoseStTFXC) November 15, 2019
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Tune-in here: https://t.co/3QhMfG5YVe pic.twitter.com/hY3Y8UHNRa
Other top-50 finishers include sophomore Luis Chavez (38th with a time of 30:41.8) and senior Savanna Perez (48th, 20:59.1).
"Overall, I thought both teams had their best performances of the year," Wick said. "Savanna also had a standout showing and Evelin, Mikayla and Camilla also came through in a big way for the women to finish as well as they did. On the men's side, Jose did a great job of executing and Luis had an outstanding race, finishing 38th to put himself in a pretty elite group of athletes."
Sandoval, the last indiviudal to qualify out of the West Region, now sets her sights on the NCAA Championships, held November 23 in Terre Haute, Indiana.
NCAA West Regional | Nov. 15, 2019 | Colfax, Washington
Women's 6K Results
10. Jennifer Sandoval - 20:09.8
48. Savanna Perez - 20:59.1
82. Evelin Meza - 21:23.5
95. Mikayla Akers - 21:30.1
109. Camilla Hanson - 21:44.1
159. Juliette Noyer - 22:23.8
185. Briana Valencia - 22:40.5
Men's 10K Results
27. Jose Piña - 30:14.4
38. Luis Chavez - 30:41.8
84. Edgar Bonilla - 31:30.7
164. Evaristo Mateo - 33:10.9
174. Klaus Quinonez - 33:35.1
185. Omar Piña - 34:26.2