By Mohamed Bafakih (@Moe_Fresco):
Less than a second separated three members of San Jose State’s women’s cross country team as they crossed the finish line one after the other to win the Fresno Invitational on Saturday.
Sophomore Jenny Sandoval finished the 3.1-mile race first with a time of 17 minutes and 50 seconds, with teammates Adilene Aldapa and Jeanette Zambrano clocking in right after.
Six California colleges, including SJSU, were represented with 45 other participants watching the Spartans finish ahead with 39 team points.
Cal Poly also totaled 39 team points after having four participants finishing in the top 10, but the victory went to SJSU and its podium placers.
SJSU finished ahead of Fresno State, Fresno Pacific, Cal State Bakersfield and Notre Dame de Namur University.
Individually for the Spartans, Kai Bohannon finished 16th, Carmen Contreras finished next and Camilla Hanson at 19th.
The Mustangs’ men’s cross country team totaled 16 points for first place, however, with 49 points separating them from the second-place Spartans at 65.
Fresno Pacific came in third place with 70 points and Fresno State finished last with 73 points.
Cal Poly had the top-four placers with Peter Cotsirilos finishing first with a time of 20:38.8.
SJSU senior Josue Gonzalez was the lone top-10 finisher for the team, placing seventh out of 33 participants.
Charlie Pope and Nicholas Liebmann rounded out the top 15 for SJSU, as Pope finished 13th and Liebmann 14th.
Both cross country teams for the Spartans will travel to Sacramento on Sept. 30 for the Capital Cross Challenge.
