SACRAMENTO, Calif. – The New Mexico State cross country teams showed progress when the team faced elite competition at the Capital Cross Challenge hosted By Sacramento State on Saturday. The women's squad took sixth in the 6k race while the men's team placed 10th in the 8k race from Haggin Oaks Golf Course.
"This meet was definitely the biggest meet we've competed in thus far. One of the challenges for us was getting out of the box quicker than we have in the past as to not get boxed in. A few of the athletes got a little further behind than they needed to, having to work their way up more than was needed," assistant coach Joe Rath said. "Overall, both sides did a good job moving up through the field as the race progressed"
On the women's side, sophomore
Jess Dominguez crossed the finish line first for the Aggies in third place overall with a personal-best time of 21:33.8. The next finisher for the team was
Corinne Hanson in 32
nd place with a time of 22:05.1.
Leah Salazar (22:21.5) and
Stephanie Quintero (22:28.6) followed closely behind and
Elana Kresl (22:41.6) rounded out the top-five finishers on the women's team.
"Jess had a really big breakthrough," Rath said. "For the first time in her career, especially in a race that size, she was able to get out somewhere in the middle of the race and go to the front of the pack, where she was able to place among the top five finishers. That helped lead our women's team to a really good finish."
The first NM State athlete from the men's team finish the race was
Abel Ketema, who placed 38
th overall, clocking in at 25:13.1.
Iley Bruce was the next to cross the finish line, placing 53
rd overall with a time of 25:27.5.
Anthony Molina posted a time of 26:01.6 in his first collegiate 8k race.
James McLain (26:06.5) and
Dylan Godfrey (26:31.5) rounded out the top-five Aggie runners.
"On the men's side, we had three freshmen running in their first 8k and learning that event takes times," Rath said Abel did a nice job moving forward from his injury. He's progressing along nicely."
Cross Country heads back to the Golden State for the squad's next meet when the Aggies travel to UC Riverside for the Highlander Classic on Oct.13.
