SAN FRANCISCO – The Cal State San Marcos women's and men's cross country teams showed they can run with the best of them at the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) Cross Country Championships at Golden Gate Park on Sunday morning. Natalie Rodriguez, Aholibama Velazquez and Terra McGinnis became the first Cougars to earn All-CCAA honors in the women's 6K and Trent Warren, Zach Laurenzana and Steven Terris finished in the top 20 in the men's 8K.

"We represented ourselves and our school well and showed that we belong," said head coach Steve Scott. "We showed that we belong in the CCAA and (NCAA) Division II."

 

In her third race of the season, Rodriguez secured All-CCAA honors finishing fifth overall with a time of 21:39.3, shedding 34.5 seconds off of her previous 6K personal-best and running the fifth-fastest women's 6K in Cougar history.

"It's an honor to be a part of the first team to compete at the CCAA championships," Rodriguez said. "It's amazing to be a part of history for CSUSM and I'm so excited to see what the Cougars can do in the next few years."

Velazquez (21:49.0) and McGinnis (22:03.6) also ran personal-bests to finish ninth and 14th, respectively, and bring home All-CCAA honors. Salena Gallardo (22:16.7) and Anahi Soriano (22:23.4) also set new personal records while finishing 22nd and 26th, respectively, to round out the top five for the women's team.

Chico State, ranked No. 5 in the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) NCAA Division II polls, finished first overall in team scoring with 38 points. UC San Diego finished runner-up with 61 points, followed by Cal State San Bernardino with 100 points.

On the men's side, Warren led the way for the Cougars finishing 16th overall with a time of 25:17.4.

"It was great wearing the Cougar blue and competing for the first time in the CCAA conference meet," said Warren. "We really pushed each other to the finish line and as a result, three of us barely missed the All-Conference team."

Laurenzana ran a season-best 25:20.6 to finish 17th overall and Terris finished 18th overall with a time of 25:23.5. Caesar Castillo finished 25th overall with a time of 25:31.7. Justin Washington ran a personal-best 25:49.9 to finish 34th overall and round out the top five for the Cougars.

"Our guys ran their fastest team time of the year and you can't ask for anything more than that," Scott said.

Second-ranked Chico State won the championship, placing five runners in the top eight and finishing with 24 points. No. 8 Cal Poly Pomona finished second with 46 points and No. 25 SF State placed third with 62 points.

As provisional members of the CCAA, Cal State San Marcos was not eligible to earn points for the team championship. If CSUSM was eligible for postseason, the women's team would have placed third behind Chico State with 76 points and the men would have finished fourth behind the Wildcats with 110 points.

WOMEN'S 6K INDIVIDUAL RESULTS
(Top 5 Runners of 113 + CSUSM Runners):
1. McCall Habermehl (Chico State) – 21:33.1
2. Sadie Gastelum (Chico State) – 21:33.5
3. Hannah Bell (Cal State Monterey Bay) – 21:34.5
4. Ashli Baddorf (Cal Poly Pomona) – 21:38.9
5. Natalie Rodriguez (CSUSM) – 21:39.3
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9. Aholibama Velazquez (CSUSM) – 21:49.0
14. Terra McGinnis (CSUSM) – 22:03.6
22. Salena Gallardo (CSUSM) – 22:16.7
26. Anahi Soriano (CSUSM) – 22:23.4
28. Bailey Smith (CSUSM) – 22:24.5
36. Rachel Brady (CSUSM) – 22:28.3
44. Cristen Lane (CSUSM) – 22:43.6
51. Shelby Eberwein (CSUSM) – 22:53.7
52. Mandy Solorio (CSUSM) – 22:54.3
 
WOMEN'S 6K TEAM SCORES:
1. Chico State – 38
2. UC San Diego – 61
3. Cal State San Bernardino – 100
4. Stanislaus State – 116
5. Cal Poly Pomona – 129
6. Humboldt State – 150
7. Cal State Monterey Bay – 176
8. SF State – 215
9. Cal State East Bay – 258
10. Cal State LA – 295
11. Sonoma State - 330
 
MEN'S 8K INDIVIDUAL RESULTS
(Top 5 Runners of 82 + CSUSM Runners):
1. William Reyes (Chico State) – 24:13.6
2. Steven Martinez (Chico State) – 24:29.2
3. Benji Preciado (SF State) – 24:35.0
4. Mark Huizar (Cal Poly Pomona) – 24:35.5
5. Francisco Gomez (Cal Poly Pomona) – 24:42.5
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16. Trent Warren (CSUSM) – 25:17.5
17. Zach Laurenzana (CSUSM) – 25:20.6
18. Steven Terris (CSUSM) – 25:23.5
25. Caesar Castillo (CSUSM) – 25:31.7
34. Justin Washington (CSUSM) – 25:49.9
38. Michael Waltrip (CSUSM) – 25:53.5
40. Steven Ing (CSUSM) – 25:54.5
42. Ryan Maize (CSUSM) – 25:58.2
57. Chris Ceja (CSUSM) – 26:45.4
60. Joe Gonzalez (CSUSM) – 27:00.0
 
MEN'S 8K TEAM SCORES:
1. Chico State – 24
2. Cal Poly Pomona – 46
3. SF State – 68
4. Humboldt State – 129
5. UC San Diego – 148
6. Cal State Monterey Bay – 167
7. Stanislaus State – 206
8. Cal State East Bay – 241