Competing against mostly NCAA Division I competition, Westmont men’s and women’s cross country teams produced a good showing Saturday at the Northridge Invitational.
The men placed fourth among seven teams and the women took fifth out of eight teams.
In the women’s race, Chrissa Trudelle crossed the finish line in 10th place overall, completing the 6,000-meter course in 21:47.
“She ran against good competition, competed well, moved up, wasn’t intimidated and I think had something left,” said Westmont coach Russ Smelley. “Hopefully, this gives her some confidence that she is strong enough to run fast. She did not feel the exhaustion she has often felt. She was encouraged by that.”
UC Riverside took first in the women’s race with 42 points. Cal State Fullerton finished second edging out USC 55-56. Cal State Northridge was the fourth place finisher with 124 points and Westmont claimed fifth with 135. Behind Westmont were Cal State Los Angeles (144 points), UC Santa Barbara (179 points) and Glendale Junior College (Ariz.) (224 points).
Amber Collier was the Warriors’ second finisher, placing 13th in a time of 22:13.6. Caitlyn Corrao recorded a time of 22:36.3 to take 34th and Angelina Gonzalez (39th, 23:01.4) and Kelsey Larsen (41st, 23:04) finished close together as the Warriors’ final scorers.
“It was 1:17 from first through fifth with a lot of good people packed in there in a good quality race,” said Smelley. “The pack from two-five was solid. I’d like to see the pack get another 15-25 seconds closer to Chrissa.”
In the men’s 8,000 meter race, Jacob Jeanson claimed a fifth place finish with a time of 24:13.3.
“Jake ran very well, staying up with the front pack,” said Smelley. “He continued to pursue them, passed a couple of guys and ended up in fifth place. He had a good time, the fastest he’s ever run.”
UCSB won the men’s team competition with 43 points, followed closely by UC Riverside with 46. Cal State Fullerton finished third with 52 and Westmont took fourth with 96 points. Behind Westmont was Cal State Northridge with 145 points, a club team out of USC named Men of Troy with 168 points and Glendale JC with 180.
“Two through six (Westmont finishers) were 49 seconds apart, which is appealing and promising for the conference meet,” said Smelley. “I would say that it is their best performance as a team and that they are capable of better.”
Matthew Day claimed 22nd place with a time of 25:20.1 while Jacob Goodin came in 25th at 25:33.3. The next three Warrior finishers took 32nd through 34th places — Garrison Gourdeau (25:59.6), Brad Pearson (26:06.4), Paul Anderson (26:09.3).
Both the men’s and women’s teams will compete next Saturday in the Biola Invitational at Irvine Park in the City of Orange.
