SAN DIEGO - The San Diego State cross country team heads to Sacramento, Calif. to compete in the Capital Cross Challenge 6k Saturday morning.
The collegiate 6k begins at 10:30 a.m. The course uses nine holes of the complex's Arcade Creek golf course following an outer and inner horseshoe design. Almost all of the running on the flat course will occur on well-maintained fairways.
Paige Comiso, Isabelle Davis, Marissa D'Atri, Lauren Harper, Jessica Kain, Carlene Masar, Reneee Phillips and Naomi Smitham will be running the 6k Invitational for the Aztecs.
Two Aztecs, Isabelle Davis and Alex Lomeli, will be running a 5k at the Master's University XC Invitational, beginning at 7:45 a.m. Davis competed in this event last year, along with three other Aztecs, and finished in 19:49.7, good for 72nd place.
Three Aztecs who traditionally compete in mid-distance events in the track season ran the 5k Open competition that followed the 6k Invite. Sophomore Nyjari McNeil finished first among that group with a time of 19:47.8 (75th place). She was followed by Sakura Roberson (114th; 20:24.8) and freshman Sonja Andenmatten (127th; 20:38.9).
Last Time Out
The Aztecs finished in 11th place out of 19 teams at the UC Riverside Invitational 6k two weeks ago. Sophomore Carlene Masar paced the Aztecs with a time of 21:51.7.
Masar was followed by Renee Phillips, who crossed the finish line in 22:18.7, good for 64th place and a new career best in the 6k. Lauren Harper (78th) and Jessica Kain (82nd), running their first collegiate 6k, were the next Aztecs to finish, clocking in at 22:27.3 and 22:35.6 respectively.
Aztec Storylines
• San Diego State has run the Arcade Creek 6K Course at Haggin Oaks Golf Course six times since 2013. Their best finish came in 2016 when they finished eighth with a team time of 1:49.46.7, led by Elaine Ribeiro (21:22.3) and Christine Kent (21:25.3). Last year, the Aztecs took 11th out of 26 teams and were led by Carlene Masar (22:30.0) and Paige Comiso (22.42.2).
• Last year, the Aztecs ran on this course twice, for the Capital Cross Challenge and again for the NCAA West Region Championships.
• Carlene Masar has finished top two among Aztec runners in every race she has run.
Aztecs Running at Capital Cross Challenge Saturday
