XC | Waves Invitational on Deck for Gaels

MORAGA, Calif. – After a solid start to the season last weekend at the USF Invite, Saint Mary's Cross Country head down to Malibu for the Waves Invitational.

THE DETAILS
Waves Invitational
Saturday, September 9
9 AM – Men's 6K | 9:45 AM – Women's 4 K
Alumni Park – Malibu, Calif.
Results

LAST TIME OUT
Saint Mary's Cross Country opened their 2023 season last weekend at the USF Invite, which saw numerous Gaels drop significant time from last season.

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 42^nd place. Her teammate Emily Field wasn't far behind in 46^th. Newcomer Luz Mercado running in 49^th through opening 2K.

Barnes finished strong, climbing seven more places to finish 24^th 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 77^th 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 35^th in a time of 22:20.2.

Emily Field wasn't far behind Jepsen, as she claimed 41^st in a time of 22:27.6. She too ran quicker than she did a year ago, shaving off over 45 seconds from her 52^nd 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 49^th overall. Her 22:40.2 was a 20 second improvement over her 47^th 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 57^th with a 22:46.1 and Rome in 70^th with a 23:16.0.

A solid performance from all the Gaels women put them in 6^th overall out of 13 teams with a total score of 175. Saint Mary's also finished in 6^th 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.

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.

Eric Martinez was the Gael to take charge after 6K, once again moving up 23 positions into 65^th. Aidan Donovan moved up 13 spots as well into 67^th. Freshman Luther Hart was making his way up the pack as well as he moved up 21 spots into 72^nd.

Martinez hung onto his lead, as he finished with top honors for the Gaels in 56^th with a time of 25:40.4. Next across the line for SMC was Aidan Donovan who claimed 59^th 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 66^th, Luther Hart in 68^th, and Alexandro Alvarez in 69^th. Coulston finished in a time of 25:57.3, a 35 second improvement on last year.

The Saint Mary's Men finished 8^th 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.

#GaelsRise

Schedule

XC | Waves Invitational on Deck for Gaels

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Players Mentioned

Alexandro Alvarez

Kaylee Barnes

Troy Coulston

Aidan Donovan

Emily Field

Klara Frih

Luther Hart

Eleanor Jepsen

Eric Martinez

Luz Mercado

Sydney Rome

GAELS IN THE PROS

CHAMPIONS

HALL OF FAME

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