Sometimes you can run for miles and miles and still not end up where you wanted to be.  The Long Beach State cross country teams’ bid for the Big West Conference Championship came to a disappointing finish Saturday at the UC Riverside Agriculture Operations Course, as the 49ers finished in fifth place in the men’s competition with 136 points, and the women’s squad came in sixth with 125 points.

Riverside claimed its first women’s title with 60 points, while the Cal Poly men scored 19 points en route to its sixth consecutive championship.  Danielle Domenichelli of UC Santa Barbara won the women’s individual championship and Daniel Gonia of Cal Poly claimed the men’s title.

Sarah Apgar was the top runner for the 49ers in the women’s 6K race as she just missed finishing in the top 10, crossing the finish line in 11th with a time of 20:55.30.  Coming in second for The Beach was Carly Harris who finished in 17th with a mark of 21:16.50 and Missy Barclay finishing third for LBSU, crossed the line in 24th with a time of 21:33.70.  Rounding out the top five for the 49ers were Kristina Wilson (26th) with a time of 21:37.30 and Jessica Barnard (51st) at 22:48.80.

Individually for the men’s squad, Travis Kuhlman was the top 49er as he finished in 23rd place with a time of 25:19.8, while Mark Thomas came in second for LBSU at 25:21.3 as he placed 25th.  Finishing third was Josh Ruff at 25:26.7 (29th), Nick Kelley fourth at 25.39.6 (33rd) and Bret Hasvold in fifth at 25:47.6 (36th).

The 49ers will still participate in the NCAA West Regional Oct. 15, at the Stanford University Golf Course in Palo Alto.  The women’s 6K race is scheduled at 11 a.m., and the men’s 10K meet will start at 12 p.m.

From LBSU reports