SANTA CLARITA, Calif. -- A couple of weeks of training helped VU women's cross country to a second-place finish at The Master's Invitational Saturday morning. The Lions had a total time of 1:52:02 and had 71 points to place behind CSU Monterey Bay, who took the top prize.
What Happened? The Blue and Gold got stellar finishes from
Kaitlyn Smith and
Ella Murray, who finished within nine seconds of each other in fifth and sixth. Smith had a 21:46.6 and Murray a 21:55.7 to secure VU's only finishes in the top 10.
Madyson Nakamura was next in 14th after completing the race in 22:27.6, while
Zoe Tavares was in 19th after crossing the line at the 22:42.4 mark.
Giselle Rubio ran the course in 23:10 in 33rd,
Emily Noyes placed 44th with a 23:34.5,
Hailey Quiroz was five seconds behind her (23:39.9) in 46th, and
Brady Wylie had a time of 24:19.5 in 68th.
Madison McGarvey &
Asha Digiambattista were the next two to cross the line in 73rd and 81st, respectively. McGarvey posted a time of 24:28.6, and Digiambattista had a 24:39.9.
Jordan Wylie placed 114th (25:32.3),
Haley Butenschoen was 127th (25:49.2),
Kaitlyn Barragan was 130th (25:53.2),
Zoe Feaver crossed the line in 143rd (26:13.3) in her first race of the year, and
Adrianna Huffstuttler finished in 154th (27:09.2).
"Our ladies lit it up today," Said Head Coach
Bryan Wilkins. "We thought a top-three finish was possible, and our depth came through for us again. Ella made a big jump and closed the gap on Kaitlyn over the final stages. We were happy to knock off Pepperdine, who beat us at the UCR race."
What's Next? The Lions go to the Pomona-Pitzer Invite next Saturday morning.
