Running on its own campus in front of close to 100
spectators spread out along the course, the CSU Bakersfield Cross Country team
had five athletes place in the top eight of the Roadrunner Invitational on
Saturday morning.
CSUB took on Fresno State in the annual meet, which was a
non-scoring contest. Cecilia Lopez (Jr., Bakersfield, Calif., North HS) turned
in the fastest time for CSUB, placing second overall with a mark of 19 minutes,
18.20 seconds. Fresno State's Stevie Brumwell won the race, clocking an
18:56.60.
It was the third meet of the season for CSUB and head coach
Ashley Benson is proud of the improvement she is seeing from her squad.
"We are progressing and we are working on that mental
attitude and gaining confidence every race," Benson said. "A couple of the
girls improved their times from last year (At the 2010 Roadrunner
Invitational). It is always hard to measure different courses, so to have the
same exact course as last year and to get to measure against that is good for
us."
CSUB's Megan Thompson (So., Fellows, Calif., Taft HS) placed
third overall with a time of 19:35.10. The Roadrunner trio of Melisa Cruz (Jr.,
Bakersfield, Calif., West HS), Judith Mata (Sr., Oxnard, Calif., Rio Mesa HS)
and Jazmin Lopez (Jr., Baldwin Park, Mt San Antonio College) finished in the
sixth, seventh and eighth spots with times of 19:45.80, 19:58.90 and 20:18.90
respectively.
"We are continuing on that upward trend and everyday we are
getting a little bit better," Benson said. "I am pleased with the effort put
out today."
With the Roadrunner Invitational being CSUB's only home meet
of the season, Benson added that it was good for the program to be able to have
fans out to see the team run and cheer them on.
"It was really nice having the support out here," Benson
said.
The Roadrunners will be back in action on Oct. 8 at the UCSD
Triton Classic in San Diego.
~www.GoRunners.com~
