VANCOUVER, British Columbia — Saint Mary's cross country freshmen
Rayna Stanziano and
Lucas Chung competed in the 2020 Pan Am Cross Country Championship for the first time in program history.
Stanziano demonstrated an impressive performance in the Championship as she earned a 16th place finish out of 29 runners with a time of 25:02. Stanziano was one of five United States' competitors to finish in the top-20. Chung also recorded a notable showing as he placed in 18th for a top-20 finish with a solid time of 29:09.
On the men's side, it was Corey Gorgas who took first place overall with a time of 27:15, besting Evan Bishop by five seconds to secure the win. For the women, Brooke Rauber was able to finish ahead of Sadie Sigfstead by 11 seconds with a time of 23:12 for the win.
No Saint Mary's Gael had ever qualified for the Pan Am Cross Country Championships until Stanziano and Chung and they were both the first Gaels to attempt the qualifying race since 2016.
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"It was great to have two of our freshman represent Team USA at their first International competition," said head coach Marty Kinsey. "The Pan American championships put forth a course that was the most difficult I have ever seen in my entire career. While the competitors were put through the ringer, both Rayna and Lucas ran tough and represented Team USA and Saint Mary's very well."
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