Terre Haute, Ind. - Putting a bow on the single greatest season in the history of San José State women's cross country, senior Jennifer Sandoval finished the 2019 campaign at the NCAA Championships on Saturday morning.
Sandoval was the first-ever Spartan to compete in the women's NCAA Championships. She completed the 6k at the LaVern Gibson Championship Cross Country Course in 21:08.2, finishing in 82nd place out of 254 runners.
No. 82 out of the top 250 runners in the country!
— SJSU Track & Field/Cross Country (@SanJoseStTFXC) November 23, 2019
Congratulations to @that_girljenny on the best season in program history ?? pic.twitter.com/qfX8SOIYxh
"The goal was to get in a position to race the ladies we were looking to compete with and Jenny did just that," said head coach Brad Wick. "She put herself in the mix and competed until the end."
Sandoval, who finished in 10th place and earned All-West Region honors at the NCAA West Regionals last week, jumped out to a great start on Saturday and held her own with the best runners in the country under 35 degree temperatures and light rain.
"The difference between 50th and 90th is just 15 seconds so you just want to out there, run tough and see where the chips fall," Wick said. "It was a great end to an outstanding senior season."
That senior season included five top-10 finishes and individual titles at the USF and Santa Clara Invitationals earlier in the year.
Sandoval was one of 38 runners to qualify as individuals for the NCAA Championships. Mountain West counterpart Weini Kelati emerged as the individual champion on Saturday, crossing the finish line in 19:47.5 to win the title.
2019 NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships - Women's Results
LaVern Gibson Championship Cross Country Course - Terre Haute, Ind.
Team Results (Top 10)
- Arkansas - 96 pts.
- BYU - 102 pts.
- Stanford - 123 pts.
- New Mexico - 168 pts.
- NC State - 190 pts.
- Michigan State - 209 pts.
- Wisconsin - 235 pts.
- Air Force - 259 pts.
- Furman - 290 pts.
- Colorado - 294 pts.
Individual Results (Top 10)
- Weini Kelati (New Mexico) - 19:47.5
- Alicia Monson (Wisconsin) - 19:57.1
- Katie Izzo (Arkansas) - 19:59.3
- Taylor Werner (Arkansas) - 20:11.1
- Courtney Wayment (BYU) - 20:16.1
- Erica Birk (BYU) - 20:16.1
- Whittni Orton (BYU) - 20:17.0
- Ella Donaghu (Stanford) - 20:17.9
- Ednah Kurgat (New Mexico) - 20:18.4
- Elly Henes (NC State) - 20:20.7
San José State Result
82. Jennifer Sandoval - 21:08.2