SAN DIEGO – The San Diego State cross country competed at the Mountain West cross country championships Friday morning at Morley Field in Balboa Park. The Aztecs finished in tenth place out of 11 teams and were led by Renee Laurenzana.
Eight of the nine Aztecs runners were freshmen and they were without one of their top runners, Carlene Masar, who sat out due to injury.
"I'm proud of the team and their effort today," Coach Robert Lusitana said after the race. "This is the first collegiate championship race for the majority of them and we have one of the toughest cross country conferences in the nation. They are a young team that is still learning, and this race was a valuable experience for them."
Racing on a challenging and hilly course, Renee Laurenzana paced the Aztecs with a time of 23:16.0, good for 59th place. She became the fifth different Aztec runner to be the team's top finisher.
"Our team has incredible depth." Lusitana explained. "Our spread has been small all year long, which is a good sign for the future. Most of our freshmen are running much faster than they did in high school, which is encouraging."
Behind Laurenzana was Marissa D'Atri who was leading the Aztecs for much of the race. She finished in 66th place (23:34.8).
The rest of the Aztecs' top five consisted of Paige Comiso (72nd; 23:52.5), Alize Hartke (73rd; 23:56.0) and Renee Phillips (79th; 23:34.5).
Other Aztec runners included: Natalie Regalado (82nd; 25:15.0), Isabelle Davis (85th; 25:32.1), Natalie Medina (89th; 26:20.5) and Caitlyn Couch (89th; 26:34.1), who was battling an injury.
Up next for the Aztecs is the NCAA West Regionals in two weeks.
"Regionals is the most important race of the year, so we will begin tapering off our workouts as that approaches," Lusitana said.
QUOTE OF THE MEET
"I thought for what we had, we competed well and I'm proud of their effort. Caitlyn Couch wasn't 100 percent and Carlene Masar couldn't run, that's two of our top five runners." Coach Robert Lusitana
THE NOTE
The Aztecs have had a different top finisher in all five of their races.
UP NEXT
The Aztecs will run in the NCAA West Region Champions on November 9 in Sacramento, Calif. at Haggin Oaks Golf Course. The meet will be streamed by FloSports (subscription required).
2018 Mountain West Championships
Morley Field at Balboa Park – San Diego, Calif.
Team Results (Top 5 & SDSU – out of 11 teams)
1. No. 3 New Mexico – 33
2. No. 2 Boise State – 35
3. Air Force – 105
4. Utah State – 126
5. San José State – 149
10. San Diego State - 307
Individual Results (Top 5 & SDSU – out of 91 runners)
1. Weini Kelati (UNM) – 19:49.3
2. Edinah Kurgat (UNM) – 20:07.4
3. Charlotte Prouse (UNM) – 20:11.3
4. Allie Ostrander (BSU) – 20:14.3
5. Jaci Smith (AF) – 20:40.4
59. Renee Laurenzana (SDSU) – 23:16.0
66. Marissa D'Atri (SDSU) – 23:34.8
72. Paige Comiso (SDSU) – 23:52.5
73. Alize Hartke (SDSU) – 23.56.0
79. Renee Phillips (SDSU) – 23:34.5
82. Natalie Regalado (SDSU) – 25:15.5
85. Isabelle Davis (SDSU) – 25:32
87. Natalie Medina (SDSU) – 26:20.5
89. Caitlyn Couch (SDSU) – 26:34.1
Young Aztecs Compete at MW Championships
