Westmont men’s and women’s cross country entered today’s Vanguard Invitational hoping to make an impact on the NAIA national rankings. On the men’s side, it appears to be ‘mission accomplished’ for the Warriors.
The Warrior men finished second overall and first among four-year schools, tallying 82 points. Orange Coast J.C. won the race with 65 points. Vanguard was third with 95 points and The Master’s finished fourth with 126 points. Point Loma Nazarene (149 points) took sixth place, while Concordia (156 points) tied for seventh with Loyola Marymount. Fresno Pacific scored 224 points to finish ninth.
As a result of the race, the Warriors, currently ranked at #23, should move ahead of #19 Vanguard when the new national ratings are released on Tuesday, October 14. That would make Westmont the top ranked team in the Golden State Athletic Conference.
Jacob Goodin finished fourth, completing the 8,000 meter race in a time of 25:36. Jake Jeanson took ninth place with a time of 26:05 and Matthew Day placed twenty-second in a time of 26:46. Nathan Kemp was the Warriors’ fourth finisher taking twenty-fourth place with a time of 26:47. Sean Adams completed the Warrior scoring with a twenty-eighth place finish in a time of 26:57.
The Westmont women’s team finished seventh in the 12-team field with 141 points. The University of Southern California won the race 47 points and Orange Coast College took second with 74 points. Concordia (75 points) was the third place finisher with Point Loma Nazarene (128 points) finishing fourth. Vanguard and Cal State Los Angeles tied for fifth with 129 points.
Chrissa Trudelle was the Warriors’ top finisher. Trudelle claimed fourteenth place in the 5,000 meter race with a time of 18:55. Kate Stuart completed the race in a time of 18:43, good enough for eighteenth place. Westmont’s only other finisher in the top-30 was Danica Rosendale in twenty-sixth place with a time of 18:54.
Next up for the Warriors is the Cal State Northridge Invitational on Friday afternoon, October 16 beginning at four o’clock.
