The cross country team traveled to California this past weekend to participate in its last meet before the Big Sky Championships on Nov. 2.
Saturday’s Cal Poly Invitational featured six men’s and six women’s teams. Some of the best runners in the Western region competed in the event. PSU turned in some impressive individual performances, with the men’s and women’s teams taking fourth and third places overall.
Evan Garich, tenth-place finisher, led the men’s team with a time of 27 minutes, 15 seconds, one minute behind winner Fernando Cabada of Fresno State. Chris Hollis continued his streak of consistently good runs with a 15th place time of 27:21. Michael Devenport was not far behind with a 16th place finish and a time of 27:29 in the 8K race.
However, it was the women who really shined. Jenny Rodgers came in first place in the women’s 5K run with a time of 17:54, only 19 seconds slower than the course record of 17:35. Rodgers broke away from the pack midway through the race and never looked back. Assistant coach Mike Hickey was not surprised that Rodgers ran away with the race.
“Jenny and I have looked at her development over the past year,” Hickey said. “She’s definitely put herself on another level this season.”
Annie Kawasaki finished ninth overall for the women with a time of 18:35. Bryn Cogdill and Mandy Peterson also ended in the top 20 with their respective 16th and 19th place finishes.
Now, both the men’s and women’s teams are looking ahead to their next challenge – the Big Sky Championships in Pocatello, Idaho.
“This course was very tough,” coach Hickey said, referring to the 99 percent dirt Fairbanks Memorial Course. “But the Big Sky Championship course may even be a little tougher. It’s very important that we come in with a competitive and confident attitude.”
PSU, which joined the Big Sky Conference in 1996, has never performed impressively at the meet. Last season, the men came in seventh among eight teams, while the women came in last. They are expecting to do better this season, hoping that experienced runners such as Rodgers and Garich (who led the team at last year’s games) and the fresh crop of new runners can really pull together. Their whole season has been in preparation for these games, and Hickey is optimistic.
“If we can all come together on the same day, then we’ll achieve our goals. I don’t think that there’s any one person this season that isn’t running faster than they ever have before. When that happens, you’re definitely doing something right.”