LODI, Calif. — On a warm late afternoon/early evening in Lodi, at Micke Grove Park, the Gaels were blazing hot on the trails. Saint Mary's Cross Country turned in a pair of strong performances on Friday that saw top-five finishers in both the men's and women's races, concluding with a race win for Rayna Stanziano.
 
THREE IN THE TOP
Saint Mary's began the day with the men running their 8k race, and over the course of four, 2k-laps, the Gaels steadily climbed through the top. It wound up being freshman Muhammed Ahmed pacing the Gaels and finishing in second place overall with a time of 25:44.6, just eight seconds back of a win. He was followed in the top-ten by Blaine Reynolds (26:19) and Nick Holyfield (26:29.9), with Payton Fox finishing just outside of the top-ten with an 11^th place finish in 26:31.2 Ahmed, Holyfield, and Fox all set new personal bests with their times as they pushed Saint Mary's through to a second-place finish overall.
 
"The fact that they were able to stay controlled and stay in packs early on, they moved up consistently throughout the race," Marty Kinsey mentioned about the men. "For Muhammed to finish second, he's a stud and he had a learning experience at SF State but he's definitely putting together and the rest of the men as well."
 
WE GOT A WINNER
Was there any doubt that the first win of the season for Saint Mary's would come courtesy of Rayna Stanziano? The junior was the fastest runner on the course during the early-evening race, winning the Pacific Invite with a time 21:13.1. This marked her second-fastest race of the season and the second time she has won a cross country race (Jessup Invite, spring of 2021). The Gaels also landed three on their side in the top-ten, with Molly Dreher running a strong race to finish sixth overall with a 22:18.8, Sylvia Ingram finishing eighth with her 22:35.1 Hannah Wohlenberg was running unattached in the race and finished fourth with her time of 21:45.6. Saint Mary's finished with the top time overall in the team category, beating out the eight other teams.
 
"The women also ran a great race," Kinsey acknowledged. "They were patient in the beginning, learning how to run in packs and staying controlled. Rayna did a good job of that. It's easy to get your adrenaline going and get shot out of a cannon, but she stayed composed and she was able to move up and win the race, and the same thing with the women as a team."
 
UP NEXT
Saint Mary's has just one more race before the WCC Championship at the end of October. The Gaels will race in the Bronco Invite on October 16, their final tune-up before the biggest race of the year. SMC is the host of this year's WCC Championship, which will be held in Concord.
 
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