The Chicago State men's and women's cross country team competed at the Western Athletic Conference Cross Country Championships at the UC Riverside Agricultural Operations in Riverside, California, this afternoon. The men placed 13th and improved on its all-time best 8K team average time, coming in at 27:46 while the Cougars top finisher,
Jonnathan Fernandez, improved his personal best and moved up to second on the Cougars all-time best times list for an 8K race, clocking in at 25:30.0. Additionally, eight Cougars posted personal best times. The women also placed 13th and were led across the finish line by Angelica Moreno who finished with a time of 27:23.0.
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"We competed the best we could as a group and collectively had our best team performances of the season," director of track & field/cross Country
Paul Zavala said. "There was a tremendous amount of growth throughout our program and I'm excited for the progress we can make ahead."
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California Baptist won the men's event with each of its five runners cross the finishing line in the top five spots, led by WAC individual champion Florian LePallec. On the women's side, Utah Valley won the title with 34 points and the individual champion was Abilene Christian's Irene Rono who finished the 6K course in 19:44.2.
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Compete team standing and Cougars individuals listed below.
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Western Athletic Conference Cross Country Championship
UC Riverside Agricultural Operations
Riverside, California
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Men (8K)
1 CBU, Â 15
2 Utah Valley, 42
3 Grand Canyon, 110
4 Lamar, 139
5 Dixie State, 157
6 Sam Houston, 178
7 Abilene Christian, 191
8 New Mexico St., 207
9 Stephen F. Austin, 226
10 UT-Rio Grande Valley, 247
11 Tarleton State, 305
12 Seattle U., 319
13 Chicago State, 375
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Chicago State runners
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Women (6K)
1 Utah Valley, 34
2 CBU, 41
3 Abilene Christian, 62
4 New Mexico St., 96
5 Dixie State, 154
6 Seattle U., 192
7 Grand Canyon, 223
8 Stephen F. Austin, 225
9 Sam Houston, 233
10 Lamar, 274
11 UT-Rio Grande Valley, 277
12 Tarleton State, 327
13 Chicago State, 425
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Chicago State Runners
93 Angelica Moreno, 27:23.0
96 Miahna Harden, 31:05.3
97 Jayda Ireland, 31:48.7
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About Chicago State
Chicago State University Athletics is comprised of 15 intercollegiate teams involving over 150 student-athletes that compete in basketball, cross country, golf, soccer, tennis, indoor and outdoor track and volleyball. CSU held memberships in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) and NCAA Division II before transitioning to NCAA Division I in 1994. Melvin Bland was the first CSU student-athlete to gain NAIA All-American status in 1974 as a wrestler. Fred Evans became the first black swimmer ever to win a national championship in 1975. CSU's women's basketball team earned a spot in the 2011 Women's Basketball Invitational and CSU's men's basketball team won the 2013 Great West Conference Tournament title and made an appearance in the CollegeInside.com Postseason Tournament (CIT). The Men's Outdoor Track & Field 4x100-Meter Relay team were 2019 Honorable Mention All-Americans and WAC Champions. Their feat marked the first time the Chicago State's men's track & field program was represented at the national meet.Â
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