California State University at Northridge
Capitol XC Challenge
CSUN Men 13th, Women 16th at Capital Cross Challenge
9/29/2018 3:50:00 PM | Men's Cross Country, Women's Cross Country
Final Results
SACRAMENTO, Calif -- The CSUN men's and women's cross country teams traveled to Sacramento on Saturday to compete in the Capital Cross Challenge hosted by Sacramento State.
The Matador men finished 13th overall paced by Michael Merchan, and the women finished 16th overall, paced by Elizabeth Silengo. The men competed in an 8k race beginning at 9:50 a.m., while the women's 6k race began at 10:30 a.m. at the Arcade Creek Golf Course.
Merchan paced the men's team again with another stellar performance. He finished 14th (24:41.8) out of 266 runners, the biggest field he's competed against this year by more than 100 student-athletes. Following his lead was David Hidalgo (84th, 25:52.7), Mario Ramirez (90th, 25:54.8), Kristian Oatman (113th, 26:10.6), Julian Silva (146th, 26:32.7), Robby Foster (178th, 27:04.5)Â and Oscar Ochoa (195th, 27:18.0).
"We are continuing to develop as a team; the guys are really learning a lot about themselves and as a unit," said CSUN head coach Lawrence Johnson. "Mike continues to lead our efforts as a team with another top-15 finish in a group of elite level field of athletes."
Silengo, a freshman, paced the women's team for the first time in her collegiate career finishing 70th overall out of 251 runners in a time of 22:51.3. Following Silengo was Heidi Eligio (80th, 22:56.4), Katie Alvarenga (111th, 23:21.3), Marina Kaye (140th 23:46.0), Alyssa DeStasio (161st, 24:03.6), Serena Garcia, (170th, 24:12.4)  and Joy Bosede (179th, 24:26.2).
"Our rookies are steadily improving;Â Elizabeth stepped up big time for us today as our No. 1Â runner for the first time all season,"Â added Johnson. "We have a lot more work to do in order to get more consistent results as a team. However, I am confident that we will continue to gel."
~GoMatadors.com~
Players Mentioned
