Senior Dana Mecke posted a seventh-place finish at Saturday's Stanford Invitational.
STANFORD, Calif. — Senior Dana Mecke registered a seventh-place finish to help guide the UTSA women’s cross country team to a ninth-place effort at the Stanford Invitational held Saturday at the Stanford Golf Course. Meanwhile, sophomore Layne Nixon finished 40th to lead the men to a 13th-place showing in one of the top annual collegiate meets in the country.
In a 179-person field featuring many of the top squads on the West Coast, Mecke covered her first 6k loop of the season in a time of 20:52 for seventh place behind collegiate winner Jessica Pixler of Seattle Pacific (20:21), Deborah Maier of California and a quartet of runners from No. 5-ranked Stanford. Mecke paced a 5:36 mile in the race won by unattached Tara Erdmann in 20:20.
Sophomore Kayla Pratt placed 21st among collegiate competitors, averaging a 5:49 mile for a 21:39 clocking, while senior Pernilla Savestrand was 51st in 22:26. Freshmen Ashley Benes and Jessica Bitterly rounded out the top five in 88th (23:19) and 102nd (23:31), while sophomore Courtney Nelson placed 124th (24:11).
The Roadrunners tallied 269 points for ninth place in the 22-team field won by Stanford’s 24 points. California was second with 100, followed by Loyola Marymount (143), UC Davis (145), Chico State (187), UC Santa Barbara (196), Cal Poly (201) and Long Beach State (201).
Nixon led a solid showing by the men with his 40th-place effort, touring the 8k trail in a time of 25:22. Redshirt sophomore Brandon Chiuminetta was close behind in 58th with a 25:45 clocking, while redshirt freshman Daniel Balbontin was 71st in 26:00.
Sophomore Cole Reveal and freshman Jim Stitt both stopped the clock in 26:09 to round out the top five in 80th and 81st, respectively. Senior Corey Vargas was 99th in 26:36 and sophomore Albert Cardenas was 107th in 27:00.
UTSA scored 330 points for 13th place in the 18-team field made up of 169 harriers. No. 3 Stanford posted a perfect score of 15 for the team crown, while No. 31 California edged UC Davis for runner-up honors, 101-102.
In Friday evening action at the Islander Splash in Corpus Christi, sophomore Michael Cook led a trio of Roadrunners with a 26th-place 5-mile time of 27:28.8. Junior Dominick Zucconi was 38th in 27:51, while sophomore Ivan Garcia placed 67th in 30:44.8.
Complete results for the Stanford Invitational can be found online here.
Complete results for the Islander Splash can be found here.
The Roadrunners return to action next Saturday, Oct. 3, when they travel to Seguin to compete in the TLU Bulldog Invitational.