The UC Davis cross country teams split up its squads this weekend, sending some runners across the country while others stayed closer to home.
Whether the Aggie runners were down in Santa Clara for the Bronco Invitational or over in Louisville, Ky. for the NCAA Division I Pre-Nationals, it was an encouraging weekend for UC Davis. Both races were run on Saturday.
On the 6k course hosted by the University of Louisville, junior Sarah Sumpter turned in a time of 20:15, which was good for 12th place in the strong field of the NCAA Pre-Nationals.
Junior Alycia Cridebring placed 29th overall with a time of 20:42.8. This strong showing for the Aggies in the group of 265 runners led UC Davis to 10th place with 320 points.
The field was littered with some of the top college teams in the country, including Florida State, the No. 1 ranked team in the country.
“We beat some good teams today to take home a 10th-place result, but we fell short of the goal with which we approached this meet,” said head coach Drew Wartenburg.
Sophomore Katie Fry was the third Aggie to finish, with a time of 21:15.9 that put her in 68th place overall. Senior Lauren Wallace and freshman Christine Hoffman were the next two UC Davis runners to finish, coming in at 104th and 107th place, respectively.
As for the runners in Santa Clara, UC Davis sent the rest of the women’s team along with the men’s traveling squad.
Sophomore Trevor Halsted continued his string of strong performances with a 24:09.2 sixth place finish and Grayson Hough recorded a time of 24:18.9 to finish in 11th place.
“Trevor has raced consistently each time out and Grayson put together the type of effort that we have been looking for,” Wartenburg said. “[It’s] a good step in the right direction of this group and we will carry some positive momentum forward as the men continue to develop and gain experience.”
The UC Davis men’s runners finished in second overall with 158 points, which was a product of a 24:41.92 average time over the 8k course.
Junior Shannon Harcus finished the women’s 5k course at the Bronco Invitational in 17:48.8 to pace the Aggies with a 28th-place finish.
The Aggies finished in eighth place as a team, with an average time of 18:09.4 over the top five runners.
The Aggies will get a couple weeks off before the Big West Championships, which will take place at the UC Riverside Ag/Ops Course in Riverside on Oct. 27.
MATTHEW YUEN can be reached at sports@theaggie.org.
