SANTA CLARITA, Calif.—The CSUN Men's Cross Country team returned to action Saturday as both programs entered The Master's University Invitational. Both races were held in Central Park.
 MEN Freshman Daniel Rodriguez posted the top CSUN performance as he finished with a time of 25:08.2 on the 8k course. He was credited with 10th-place points, as he came in 11th overall. Rodriguez lowered his 8k time from the Sept. 10 Stump Invitational by nearly a minute. Santiago Hardy of Antelope Valley was the individual winner (24:42.8). The Matadors were fifth in the team race (126). The Master's (59) was the team winner.Â
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"Our men's team displayed a strong team chemistry today," said assistant coach Kevin Smith. "Our first three finished in the top 20 with a separation of :23. The 4-5 runners were :35 apart. The pack mentality resulted in a fifth-place finish."
 CSUN PERFORMANCES                                              8k Course
WOMEN Redshirt sophomore Sonia Avila was the top finishing Matador as she posted a time of 19:51.70 over the 5k course. She was credited with 53rd-place points and placed 64th overall. Embry Riddle-Arizona's Ariana Anderson was the individual winner (17:03.0). In the team competition, CSUN finished 13th (384). Loyola Marymount (45) was the team winner.
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"We committed to getting out at the start and establishing (our pace)," Smith said. "This was a fundamental shift from our opener at Davis. Consequently, our individual performances improved."Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â
 CSUN PERFORMANCES                                                5k Course                                    Â
                                 Sonia Avila had the top CSUN women's finish at The Master's Invitational.
The Matadors return to action on Oct. 16 at The UC Riverside Highlander Invitational. The gun goes off at 8 a.m. for the women's race with the men's race getting underway at 8:45 a.m.
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