By Austin Turner
The San Jose State men’s and women’s cross-country teams will begin the 2018 season in the Golden City as it competes in the University of San Francisco Invitational on Saturday.
SJSU will be competing against the likes of programs including the host team and last year’s men’s and women’s team champions, the University of San Francisco. Other teams in the field include SF State, Santa Clara, Stanford, UC Berkeley, and Nevada.
The women’s race will kick things off with a 6k at 10 a.m., and the Spartans are expected to put on a strong showing.
The women’s team retained each runner that competed for the Spartans in the USF Invitational in 2017 when they placed second out of five teams.
This includes last year’s standout Jenny Sandoval, who finished sixth in the invitational last season as a sophomore and took home two wins in the six races she competed in.
Also returning for her senior season is Adilene Aldapa, who ran for three top-five finishes in 2017.
The men will be competing in an 8k run beginning at 10:45 a.m. SJSU looks to improve upon last year’s disappointing performance in the invitational, where it finished fifth in a seven team field.
The men have an experienced team coming into the 2018 season. Only one underclassman is currently on the roster, alongside five seniors and three juniors.
Among these seniors is Huruy Zeratsion, the No. 12 finisher in last year’s invitational. He was the top Spartan runner in five of their six races in 2017.
Brad Wick returns for his third year coaching the Spartans in cross-country, and still seeking his first Mountain West Conference title.
The SFU Invitational will be a test to see if the experienced Spartans are ready to compete for a championship this season.
The invitational will be held in Speedway Meadow at Golden Gate Park.
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