The Long Beach State men’s cross country team defended their title Saturday morning at the Bronco Invitational for the second straight year at the Baylands Regional Park in Sunnyvale. The 49ers scored 69 points to win by three points over second place Fresno State and 57 points over third place Boise State. A total of 15 teams took part in the men’s 8K race.
The Bronco Invitational is considered the largest cross country meet west of the Mississippi River that featured more than 630 runners in four races.
Junior Travis Kuhlman led The Beach as he crossed the finish line in third and recorded a personal best in the 8K with a time of 24:38. His previous best took place in the 49ers’ last race at the Stanford Invitational with a mark of 25:13.
Two other runners finished in the top 20 for the 49ers as sophomore Matt Maldonado finished in 17th with a time of 25:00 and junior Steven DeCastro ran to a personal best of 25:02 as he finished in 18th.
The 49ers also had strong performances from sophomore Raul Arcos who finished in 24th (25:13) and senior Jake Ainsworth crossed the line in 25th (25:13).
On the women’s side, LBSU finished in third place with 104 points, finishing just 15 points behind second place San Francisco and 55 points behind team champion New Mexico State. A total of 17 teams participated in the 5K event.
The 49ers were paced by freshman Anne Randall as she ran to a personal best in the 5K of 17:33 and finished in ninth place. This was Randall’s third top ten finish this season for The Beach.
LBSU had two other runners finish in the top 20 as sophomore Alisia Barajas crossed the finish line in 17th with a time of 17:50 and junior Jennifer Rodriguez placing 20th with a personal best of 17:51.
Also, scoring for the 49ers was senior Missy Barclay in 30th (18:04), followed by sophomore Jessica Barnard in 48th (18:22) and freshman Hillary Zator in 55th (18:35)
“I’m very excited on how both teams performed today,” said 49er distance coach Patrick Cunniff. “Annie (Randall) ran a great a race for the women’s team as she performed with a lot of poise for a freshman. For the men’s squad, it’s really a testament to the strength and depth of the men to come out and defend their title for the second year in a row.”
The 49ers return to action as they travel to Cal State Fullerton for the Titan Invitational on Friday, Oct. 23. The women’s 5K is scheduled to begin at 4:45 p.m., while the men’s 8K will begin at 5:15 p.m.
Report by LBSU