NOTRE DAME, Ind. – The UTSA cross country programs continued their 2017 campaigns Friday afternoon at the 62nd annual Joe Piane Notre Dame Invitational, contested the Burke Golf Course in Notre Dame, Ind. Yulisa Abundis led the UTSA in the Women's 5K Gold race, stopping the clock at 18:21.2 to finish 54th in the 204-competitor field. Monty Bertschy was the Roadrunners' top finisher in the Men's 5 Mile Gold race with a time of 26:18.7, placing 79th of 162.
"Today was a great experience for Roadrunners," said coach David Hartman. "Both teams faced great competition and competed well. Now it's time for us to get back to work and training as we continue moving toward the Conference USA Championship meet."
The UTSA women finished 22nd in the 25-team event, edging out C-USA member Marshall along with Valparaiso and Green Bay of the Horizon League. The men placed 16th in a 20-team field, defeating C-USA rival UTEP along with Valparaiso, Greensboro (Southern Conference) and Green Bay.
"Today has been a very successful day," said Abundis. "We raced as a team and gave it our all. There is still much to growth to be done, though. We all have personal goals, which I hope will encourage us to grow stronger and finish our season feeling accomplished of ourselves and our team.
"I personally felt great about today's race. Notre Dame is a very lovely and beautiful place. The course was fast, which helped me reach the goal that I had for today. I am very excited to see what the remainder of the season has in store for both myself and the team."
Counting in the Roadrunners' team score in addition to the junior Abundis were freshman Amber Boyd (95th / 18:51.7), sophomores Colleen Gilbert (129th / 19:17.2), Gabby Gonzales (144th / 19:30.6) and junior Charlette Janicek (151st / 19:36.9).
Rounding out the UTSA contingent were Olivia Flores placed 162nd in a time of 19:52.5 and Stephanie Sauceda in 184th with a time of 20:23.0.
"I have had a nagging injury that has been bothering me on and off for a few weeks, which in turn, has but a damper on my training," said Bertschy "I am definitely not where I want to be at this point in the season, but I have faith that everything will come together when it counts the most."
Following Bertschy across the line in the men's five-mile event was senior John von Dohlen in 92nd, clocking a 26:38.7. Sophomore Boerne native Martin Luevano crossed the line at 26:43.4 to place 98th, followed by Matthew David (117nd / 27:09.2) and Peter Sepulveda (120th / 27:13.2) to account for the 'Runners' team score.
Josh Rodriguez clocked a 27:32.0 to place 127th, while Hunter Hawkins ran a 27:43.3 (131th) and Luca Chatham a 27:55.2 (137th).
Competing in the women's open at a 5k distance were Sarah Estrada and Rian Rodriguez. Estrada crossed the line at 19:55.3 to place 37th in the 56-competitor field. Rodriguez placed 45th with a time of 20:37.7. Estrada averaged per 3:59.1 per kilometer, while Rodriguez averaged 4:07.5.
Up next
UTSA returns to action on Fri., Oct. 6 at the Texas A&M-hosted Aggie Open in College Station.
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