XC| Gaels Have Solid Start to 2015 Season
9/7/2015 12:00:00 AM | Cross Country
SMCGaels.com (Brandon Smith)
MORAGA, Calif.- Crystal clear skies, a slight chill in the air, and Golden Gate Park's beautiful Speedway Meadows; the Saint Mary's cross country team could not have asked for better conditions to start the season. Although it has been three years since the team competed at the USF Invitational, there was no hesitation shown by the Gaels, they wanted to make a solid first showing.
The women's squad started the day off first, placing a respectable 6th place out of 13teams. The quick paced start resulted in the race getting strung out in the first mile. Senior Carina Novell, battled to stay towards the front, and led the women's squad to a 12th place finish and time of (18:23.5). Freshman Abby Bolt and Taylor Khan worked together throughout the race, finishing 27th and 28th, and times of (19:11.9) and (19:14.3). Not far off her two teammates, senior Nyralee Chhotu, placed 35th (19:34). Alyssa Gutcher finished 43rd with a time 19:43.8. Freshman Neylene Leon and Andrea Gonzalez trailed not too far behind Gutcher, finishing 47th (19:54.9) and 49th (19:59.5).
I was pleased to see how well the women competed," said head coach Marty Kinsey. "You could tell each athlete fought for the position they earned. The course isn't easy so to see them battle all the way through is s sign of good things to come."
Soon after, the men's squad took the stage, finishing 3rd out of 13 teams, which made for the best men's 8K finish and best team time on the Speedway Meadow's course ever for the Gaels. Four of the Saint Mary's men broke into the top 20 of the race. Additionally, the Saint Mary's men's squad placed ahead of two WCC competitors, USF and Santa Clara. 28th ranked Cal ended up taking the first place spot with 23 points .
Like the previous race, the men's race went out fast with Cal's pack leading the way. Playing the race patiently and staying in small packs, the Gaels waited until mile three to start making their moves. Freshman Edward Chance raced a fantastic last two miles, which put him right on the heels of veterans Cormac McCullaugh, Zach Hansen, and Noah McDermott. Although Chance was the number four man for the Saint Mary's squad, he raced the fastest time of any Saint Mary's freshman on the Speedway Meadow's course with a time of (25:50.8). The trio of McCullaugh, Hansen, and McDermott finished 15th (25:26.9), 16th (25:28.3), and 18th (25:30.8). The rest of the Saint Mary's freshman also had a solid first showing. Raymond Boffman and Mason Labadie worked together throughout the race and finished 35th (26:25.6) and 36th (26:26.9). Zach Newsom also had a solid effort placing him 78th.
The freshman had a solid first race, but learning to run smart and trust in teammates will be a determining factor in how we place at WCC meet," said associate head coach Tom Kloos. "I am excited to see how the team develops mentally and physically over the rest of the season."
"Overall I am happy with the results, but we are not in a position to be complacent, we have to keep looking forward and improving," said Kinsey.
Next Up For the Gaels: Thursday September 17th the Gael's will return to Speedway Meadow's for the San Francisco State Quad Meet. Soon after, on October 3rd, the Gael's will head off to the highly competitive Sacramento State Jamboree.
Results: (Full Results)
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Players Mentioned
/ Men's Cross Country
/ Women's Cross Country
/ Men's Cross Country
/ Women's Cross Country
/ Men's Cross Country
/ Women's Cross Country
/ Men's Cross Country
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