SUNNYVALE, Calif. – Nevada captured an 11^th place finish in a field of 28 women's teams, and a 3^rd place finish in a field of 22 men's teams at the Bronco Cross Country Invitational, at Baylands Park Saturday morning. 19 athletes out of 23 who raced posted new personal bests. Senior Adam Sjolund snagged a close fourth place finish in the Men's 8K race, the highest finish for the men's squad.
 
"We had an excellent day with 19 out of 23 athletes recording Personal Bests", said Coach Elias. It was a great day for almost everyone, and that doesn't happen very often. This is a course we have raced 3 of the last 4 years so these improvements have real meaning".
 
Nationally ranked division two team Chico State won the title for the men, two of their runners sneaking into the top 10 while San Francisco took the women's team title, their top runners finishing in first and ninth individually in the 6K. Host team Santa Clara finished in third on the women's side and eighteenth on the men's.
 
The Pack's third place team finish on the men's side is an improvement from last year at this meet, where they finished fifth. Nevada missed the second-place finish, just behind Weber State, and came out on top over Loyola Marymount, finishing in fourth. Bottoming out the competition, in-conference rivals Fresno State and San Jose State finished in 25^th and 26^th.
 
Sjolund ran in a time of 23:37.6, a 32 second drop from his previous best from last year. This time puts him once again as the fastest performance from a Nevada member on the Baylands course. Sophomore Daniel Sayo finished in 13^th place, in a time of 23:55.9, also a personal best from last year on this course by 43 seconds. The pair now hold the two top Nevada times on this course.
 
Senior Jared Marchegger saw the next highest finish for the Pack in 17^th place. Running in a time of 24:00, this beats his all-time best time by 11 seconds. Junior Celime Garcia shaved off some time with his 24:28.9, a 23 second personal best on the course from last year as well finishing 50^th.
 
Alexander Mendoza ran in a time of 24:35, beating his personal best by 20 seconds from last year. Zander Simone placed 65^th, in a time of 24:39, crushing his personal best by 99 seconds, while Carson Leavitt finished in 105^th place in 25:04.  
 
Soma Baligad finished in a 25:12, a new best by 55 seconds. Freshman Tryon Jardin and Sergio Mazon rounded out the Pack, securing 132^nd and 134^th place finishes, in 25:19.1 and 25:19.9.
 
In the men's open 8K race, juniors Kyle Elias and Matthew Kruse stuck together most of the race, seeing improvements of their personal bests recorded last year. Elias ran in a 25:26 and Kruse 25:47, improving by 49 seconds and 66 seconds respectively.
 
The Pack women finished just behind Stanford, and ahead of UC San Diego, seven points behind. Mountain West rivals UNLV, Fresno State and San Jose St finished 21^st , 22^nd, and 29^th.
 
Junior Emily Clarke led the women's squad in 19^th place in 20:38, while Marije Hijman placed 28^th in 20:50.8 and Paige Penrose placed 67^th in 21:26. Clarke's time puts her at the third fastest all-time spot on the course for Nevada, while Hijman and Penrose's times put them at fourth and fifth fastest. Both Clarke, Hijman, and Penrose all ran personal bests.
 
Sophomores Claire Nelson, Alison Graf, Madelyn Shipman, and Elizabeth Shaw all saw personal bests in the 6K either from earlier this season or from the previous. Nelson finished in 98^th place in 21:51.4, a 96 second drop from her run at the Griak. That time also puts her at sixth all-time for Nevada on the course. Graf finished in 115^th in 22:01, beating her previous best by 33 seconds from over a year ago. Shipman earned a time of 22:15 in 126^th place, while Shaw finished in 22:55 in 166^th place, a 47 second personal best.  
 
Marena Middleton and Ashley Boone also saw significant drops Saturday. Middleton ran in a time of 22:37, and Boone finished in 23:54, marking a new personal best by 90 seconds.
 
The Wolf Pack will travel to Laramie, Wyoming at the end of the month, October 28, for the Mountain West Conference Championship.
 
FOLLOW THE PACK
Follow Nevada Cross Country on social media at @WolfPackTrack (Twitter), @wolfpacktrack (Instagram), and on Facebook at @NevadaTrackFieldXC
 
 
Team scores:
Men

1. Chico State – 54
2. Weber State – 120
3. Nevada – 127
4. LMU – 133
5. Cal Poly – 165
6. UC Irvine – 200
7. Fresno Pacific – 204
8. Long Beach St. – 207
9. UC Davis – 263
10. UC San Diego – 280
11. Grand Canyon – 312
12. Idaho State – 343
13. Salt Lake – 371
14. St. Mary's – Cal – 398
15. California – 407
16. Stanislaus State – 452
17. CSUN – 453
18. Santa Clara – 485
19. Pepperdine – 509
20. Utah Tech – 510
21. Sacramento State – 542
22. CSUMB – 565
23. San Francisco – 581
24. American River – 582
25. Fresno State – 707
26. San Jose State – 824

 
Women

1. San Francisco – 74
2. UC Davis – 110
3. Santa Clara – 135
4. Cal Poly – 149
5. Grand Canyon – 153
6. UC Irvine – 202
7. Chico State – 213
8. Stanislaus State – 238
9. Long Beach St. – 248
10. Stanford – 288
11. Nevada – 307
12. UC San Diego – 314
13.  California – 360
14. Idaho State – 380
15. St. Mary's Cal – 381
16. Hawaii – 416
17. Utah Tech – 440
18. Fresno Pacfic – 493
19. Sacramento State – 513
20. LMU – 533
21. UNLV – 604
22. Fresno State – 623
23. CSUMB – 624
24. CSUN – 682
25. Pepperdine – 709
26. USC – 762
27. CSU Bakersfield – 830
28. San Jose St. – 833

 
Individual
Men
4. Adam Sjolund – 23.37.6
13. Daniel Sayo – 23:55.9
17. Jared Marchegger – 24:00
50. Celime Garcia – 24:28.9
57. Alexander Mendoza – 24:35
65. Zander Simone – 24:39
106. Carson Leavitt – 25:04
122. Soma Baligad – 25:12
132. Tryon Jardin – 25:19.1
134. Sergio Mazon – 25:19.9
       
 
 
Open race
32. Kyle Elias – 25:26
46. Matthew Kruse – 25:47
85. Brian Kipchumba – 26:30.9
 
 
 
Women
19. Emily Clarke, 20:38.0
28. Marije Hijman, 20:50.8
67. Paige Penrose, 21:26.5
98. Claire Nelson, 21:51.4
115. Alison Graf, 22:01.9
126. Madelyn Shipman, 22:15.7
151. Marena Middleton, 22:37.5
166. Liz Shaw, 22:55.8,
201. Ashley Boone, 23:54