By Kayla Boardman (@kaylarboardman ):
San Jose State competed in the NCAA West Regional Cross Country Championships in Seattle. The women’s team finished 8th out of 36 teams while the men finished in 21st out of 30 teams.
The women’s ranking was the best finish to an NCAA Regional the best the program has had, with the previous best being 15th place in 2006.
Sophomore Jennifer Sandoval was the first Spartan to cross the finish line in 30th place. She has lead the team all season being the first to finish in every race.
Next to cross the finish line for SJSU was junior Adilene Aldapa in 47th place followed by freshman Kai Bohannon in 50th.
For the women’s race, the top three teams were San Francisco, Stanford and Oregon. So the Spartans did well against some difficult competition.
The men’s team however did not have as strong of a finish.
Senior Huruy Zeratsion was that fastest racer for the men, finishing first for in 69th place. He has been the fastest runner for SJSU in every race this season.
The next Spartan to cross the finish line was sophomore Charlie Pope in 101st place followed by freshman Collin De Julio in 125th place.
Finishing in the top three for schools for the men’s race were Portland, Washington and Stanford.
While the men’s team has placed in the bottom half for almost all of its races, there is still one more race left this season.
The Spartans will compete in the final race of the season at the NCAA Championships in Louisville on Saturday. Both men’s and women’s races start at 10 a.m. ET.
