Victory captured by the men’s team, while the women’s team grabs a competitive fourth place
By THEO KAYSER — sports@theaggie.org
On Sept. 13, the UC Davis men’s and women’s cross country teams traveled to River Oaks Golf Course for the Kim Duyst Twilight Cross Country Invitational.
Two weeks earlier, the men’s team took second place and the women’s team took fifth place at the University of San Francisco Invitational to kick off their seasons. In this second meet, both teams improved upon their placement, as the women took fourth place and the men claimed victory over their interstate rival UC Berkeley.
The Aggies’ men’s team was led by third-year Donavan Cheruiyot, who placed third overall with a time of 23:31.2, a career best. Joining Cheruiyot in setting a personal record was fourth-year Muhammed Ahmed, who finished shortly behind in fourth place with a time of 23:33.5.
Scoring depth proved crucial for the Aggies’ victory, as the squad’s third and fourth place runners also finished in the top ten. Fourth-year Ethan Brooks placed seventh with a time of 23:38.4, just ahead of Chris Coles, a fourth-year biochemistry major, whose time of 23:47.3 netted him an eighth-place finish. The Aggies’ final scorer was Frank Ramisch, a fifth-year cognitive science major, who placed 36th with a time of 24:58.5.
The race’s final team scores placed all three schools on the podium within a few points of one another, with the Aggies’ hardly edging out UC Berkeley and Chico State University. The Aggies’ top five runners combined for 54 points compared with UC Berkeley’s 61 and Chico State’s 64.
In addition to their formal placement victory, the group also recorded the fastest total time, running 1:59:28.
On the women’s side, the team’s strong performance was led by Fiona McGrath, a second-year biochemistry and molecular biology major, who finished in fourth place with a time of 21:03.4. Behind McGrath was Stormy Wallace, a third-year biomedical engineering major, who came in 12th place, running 21:26.8.
The remaining scorers were Shae Hill, a fourth-year biochemistry and molecular biology major in 20th place, Kayla Ruiz, a fourth-year managerial economics major in 30th place and Cassidy Kajita, a second-year environmental science and management major, in 36th place.
Those five combined for a team score of 97, which placed them within range of the podium. The race was won by Stanislaus State University, which just edged out Sacramento State University by a score of 75-76. Again, depth proved paramount for the group’s success, as all five scorers finished in the top third of the race.
After a successful start to the season, the Aggies will hope to continue their momentum heading through a month-long break before their next meet. This meet will be held at the University of Oregon on Oct. 10: a tough test for the group against one of the nation’s top schools. The Aggies will have two other meets, also in the month of October, as they enter the main stretch of their season.
Written by: Theo Kayser — sports@theaggie.org
