Photo by: Saint Mary's Athletics / Tod Fierner
XC | Gaels Hit the Ground Running at USF Invite
9/1/2023 4:20:00 PM | Cross Country, Women's Cross Country, Men's Cross Country
SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. – Saint Mary's Cross Country opened their 2023 season in familiar territory as they once again headed to Golden Gate Park in San Francisco for the USF Invite.
WOMEN UP FIRST
The Gaels women got Friday's action underway as they took part in the 6K.
Kaylee Barnes was the fastest Gael out of the gate and would be the first to cross the line. Through 2K Barnes was running in a solid 42nd place. Her teammate Emily Field wasn't far behind in 46th. Newcomer Luz Mercado running in 49th through opening 2K.
Kaylee Barnes made up serious ground in the middle 2K of the race, climbing eleven spots to 31st. Emily Field did some moving up as well, climbing from 46th to 38th.
Freshman Eleanor Jepsen ran a solid race through 4K, moving up nine spots in the middle half of the race up to 57th.
Barnes finished strong, climbing seven more places to finish 24th overall in a time of 21:46.1. Her time was nearly 3 minutes faster than what she ran at the USF Invite last fall where she finished 77th overall in a time of 24:18.5.
Freshman Eleanor Jepsen put on a show in the final 2K of the race, climbing 22 positions to finish 35th in a time of 22:20.2.
Emily Field wasn't far behind Jepsen, as she claimed 41st in a time of 22:27.6. She too ran quicker than she did a year ago, shaving off over 45 seconds from her 52nd place finish.
Other notable improvements for the Gaels included sophomore Klara Frih, who climbed 18 spots in the final leg of the race to finish 49th overall. Her 22:40.2 was a 20 second improvement over her 47th place finish from last season.
SMC newcomers Luz Mercado and Sydney Rome ran solid first races for the Gaels, as Mercado crossed the line in 57th with a 22:46.1 and Rome in 70th with a 23:16.0.
A solid performance from all the Gaels women put them in 6th overall out of 13 teams with a total score of 175. Saint Mary's also finished in 6th position at the USF Invite last fall, with their total points slightly lower at 153. Stanford women claimed the overall victory on Friday with a score of 22, with Boise State in second with 45 and UC Berkeley in third with 111.
TIME FOR THE MEN
The men's 8K got underway at 3:30, with a host of SMC returners and newcomers looking to get their season off to a speedy start.
The Gaels ran in a pack of themselves the opening 2K, as 12 men's runners occupied spots 102-113.
The pack began to spread out after 4K, as Aidan Donovan lead the charge for Saint Mary's. Donovan led the way in 84th, moving up 22 spots. Freshman Jacob Moffett was just behind him in 85th, followed by Angel Castro in 87th and Eric Martinez in 88th. Four more Gaels occupied spots 90-93 as well.
Eric Martinez was the Gael to take charge after 6K, once again moving up 23 positions into 65th. Aidan Donovan moved up 13 spots as well into 67th. Freshman Luther Hart was making his way up the pack as well as he moved up 21 spots into 72nd.
Martinez hung onto his lead, as he finished with top honors for the Gaels in 56th with a time of 25:40.4. Next across the line for SMC was Aidan Donovan who claimed 59th in a time of 25:45.7. Donovan improved five places on his finish from last year's race, taking off 61 seconds from his time last year as well.
A trio of Gaels followed, with Troy Coulston in 66th, Luther Hart in 68th, and Alexandro Alvarez in 69th. Coulston finished in a time of 25:57.3, a 35 second improvement on last year.
The Saint Mary's Men finished 8th overall out of 12 squads. Boise State won the meet for the men with a score of 21, with UC Berekley in second with 52 points, and hosts USF in third with 102 points.
Full results from today's action in San Francisco can be found HERE.
NEXT UP
The Saint Mary's Cross Country teams will be back in action next weekend for the WCC Preview Meet on Saturday, September 9 Malibu, Calif.
WOMEN UP FIRST
The Gaels women got Friday's action underway as they took part in the 6K.
Kaylee Barnes was the fastest Gael out of the gate and would be the first to cross the line. Through 2K Barnes was running in a solid 42nd place. Her teammate Emily Field wasn't far behind in 46th. Newcomer Luz Mercado running in 49th through opening 2K.
Kaylee Barnes made up serious ground in the middle 2K of the race, climbing eleven spots to 31st. Emily Field did some moving up as well, climbing from 46th to 38th.
Freshman Eleanor Jepsen ran a solid race through 4K, moving up nine spots in the middle half of the race up to 57th.
Barnes finished strong, climbing seven more places to finish 24th overall in a time of 21:46.1. Her time was nearly 3 minutes faster than what she ran at the USF Invite last fall where she finished 77th overall in a time of 24:18.5.
Freshman Eleanor Jepsen put on a show in the final 2K of the race, climbing 22 positions to finish 35th in a time of 22:20.2.
Emily Field wasn't far behind Jepsen, as she claimed 41st in a time of 22:27.6. She too ran quicker than she did a year ago, shaving off over 45 seconds from her 52nd place finish.
Other notable improvements for the Gaels included sophomore Klara Frih, who climbed 18 spots in the final leg of the race to finish 49th overall. Her 22:40.2 was a 20 second improvement over her 47th place finish from last season.
SMC newcomers Luz Mercado and Sydney Rome ran solid first races for the Gaels, as Mercado crossed the line in 57th with a 22:46.1 and Rome in 70th with a 23:16.0.
A solid performance from all the Gaels women put them in 6th overall out of 13 teams with a total score of 175. Saint Mary's also finished in 6th position at the USF Invite last fall, with their total points slightly lower at 153. Stanford women claimed the overall victory on Friday with a score of 22, with Boise State in second with 45 and UC Berkeley in third with 111.
TIME FOR THE MEN
The men's 8K got underway at 3:30, with a host of SMC returners and newcomers looking to get their season off to a speedy start.
The Gaels ran in a pack of themselves the opening 2K, as 12 men's runners occupied spots 102-113.
The pack began to spread out after 4K, as Aidan Donovan lead the charge for Saint Mary's. Donovan led the way in 84th, moving up 22 spots. Freshman Jacob Moffett was just behind him in 85th, followed by Angel Castro in 87th and Eric Martinez in 88th. Four more Gaels occupied spots 90-93 as well.
Eric Martinez was the Gael to take charge after 6K, once again moving up 23 positions into 65th. Aidan Donovan moved up 13 spots as well into 67th. Freshman Luther Hart was making his way up the pack as well as he moved up 21 spots into 72nd.
Martinez hung onto his lead, as he finished with top honors for the Gaels in 56th with a time of 25:40.4. Next across the line for SMC was Aidan Donovan who claimed 59th in a time of 25:45.7. Donovan improved five places on his finish from last year's race, taking off 61 seconds from his time last year as well.
A trio of Gaels followed, with Troy Coulston in 66th, Luther Hart in 68th, and Alexandro Alvarez in 69th. Coulston finished in a time of 25:57.3, a 35 second improvement on last year.
The Saint Mary's Men finished 8th overall out of 12 squads. Boise State won the meet for the men with a score of 21, with UC Berekley in second with 52 points, and hosts USF in third with 102 points.
Full results from today's action in San Francisco can be found HERE.
NEXT UP
The Saint Mary's Cross Country teams will be back in action next weekend for the WCC Preview Meet on Saturday, September 9 Malibu, Calif.
#GaelsRise
Players Mentioned
/ Men's Cross Country
/ Women's Cross Country
/ Men's Cross Country
/ Men's Cross Country
/ Men's Cross Country
/ Women'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
/ Women's Cross Country
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