Sept. 5, 2015
SAN DIEGO - The San Diego State cross country team begun their season in exciting fashion after winning Cal State Fullerton's Mark Covert Classic Invitational Saturday in Brea, Calif. The win marks the first for the Aztecs since the Adidas UC Irvine Invitational on Sept. 7, 2013 and the fourth under head coach Shelia Burrell.
"I was very pleased today," assistant cross country coach Karoly Varga stated. "(The team) was pretty tired coming in after a hard week of training, but they raced very tough. We have work to do (from now) until conference but I was glad to see this great start to our season. This group has great potential so I am looking forward to the weeks to come leading into conference."
Junior Elaine Ribeiro placed second out of 120 runners, clocking in at 18 minutes, 5.48 seconds. Last year at the same meet, Ribeiro came in sixth with a time of 18 minutes, 25.6 seconds.
Following closely behind Ribeiro and contributing to SDSU's victory were teammates Grace Hanshaw (4th, 18:29.57), Cassidy Towner (5th, 18:35.59), Rachel Roesgen (7th, 18:43.15) and Lily Seynaeve (8th, 18:43.72). All four women improved from their times a year ago at the same meet.
Also competing in today's meet was junior Cali King who placed 15th at 18 minutes, 58.42 seconds. Finishing seconds later was senior Hannah Sawatzki (40th, 19:44.27). Lily Mayko (46th, 19:59.63) also competed at the 5K course for San Diego State.
The Aztecs finished first out of 11 teams with 26 points. Fourteen points separated SDSU from second-place finisher Loyola Marymount (40 points). Following behind LMU with 88 points and in third place was San Diego, Cal State Fullerton (4th, 112) and Glendale (5th, 145). Meanwhile, Canyons (6th, 170), Cerritos (7th, 197), Mt. Sac (8th, 206), Whittier (9th, 264), La Verne (10th, 303), and Desert (11th, 352) also competed.
2015 Mark Covert Classic Invitational
Brea, Calif. (Carbon Canyon Park)
Women's 5,000-Meter Invitational Race
Team Results
1. San Diego State - 26
2. Loyola Marymount - 40
3. San Diego - 88
4. Cal State Fullerton - 112
5. Glendale - 145
6. Canyons - 170
7. Cerritos - 197
8. Mt. Sac - 206
9. Whittier - 264
10. La Verne - 303
11. Desert - 352
Individual Results (Top 5 of 120 runners + SDSU)
1. Kayla de Bondt (LMU) -- 17:48.49
2. Elaine Ribeiro (SDSU) -- 18:05.48
3. Kelli Sugimoto (LMU) -- 18:17.34
4. Grace Hanshaw (SDSU) -- 18:29.57
5. Cassidy Towner (SDSU) -- 18:35.59
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7. Rachel Roesgen (SDSU) -- 18:43.15
8. Lily Seynaeve (SDSU) -- 18:43.72
15. Cali King (SDSU) -- 18:58.42
40. Hannah Sawatzki (SDSU) -- 19:44.27
46. Lily Mayko (SDSU) -- 19:59.63