SANTA CLARITA, Calif. – Senior Kate Bouvatte finished second to lead the No. 11 Cal State San Marcos women's cross country team to a second place finish at the Mustang Challenge hosted by The Master's College at Central Park in Santa Clarita, Calif. Saturday. 
 
Running in nearly perfect conditions, the Cougars were just six point behind NCAA Division I Sacramento State.  Host The Master's College placed third with 111 points followed by another NCAA DI Cal State Fullerton (112) and Westmont (114). CSUSM defeated five other NCAA Division I teams that included Grand Canyon, Loyola Marymount, UC Irvine, USC and Cal State Bakersfield. 
 
Bouvatte ran the 5K race in a time of 18:12.1, crossing the line behind The Master's College's Karis Frankian (17:53.3). 
 
The next Cougar runner was sophomore Raelyn Werley in eight place with a time of 18:35.8. Two seconds later, freshman Natalie Rodriguez crossed the finish line for 16th place (18:37.2).
 
Sophomore Salena Gallardo and junior Charlotte Kuzminsky rounded out the top 5 CSUSM finishers. Gallardo finished in 33rd place at 18:56.9 while Kuzminski placed 55th in a time of 19:04.3.
 
"I think both teams did very well," said head coach Steve Scott. "Our teams are not where we want them to be but it is still early in the season so we have time to improve."
 
The Cougars are back in action in two weeks for the Pomona-Pitzer Invitational in Claremont on Oct. 4.
 
TEAM SCORES: 1. Sacramento State 49; 2. Cal State San Marcos 55; 3. The Master's College 111; 4. Cal State Fullerton 112; 5. Westmont 114; 6. Grand Canyon 182; 7. Loyola Marymount 197; 8. Fresno Pacific 199; 9. UC Irvine 239; 10. USC 299; 11. Cal State Bakersfield; 12. Cal Lutheran 377; 13. Hope International 388; 14. Embry-Riddle (Ariz.) 398; 15. Concordia (Calif.) 401; 16. Simpson 413; 17. Marymount 477; Inc. Vanguard; Inc. William Jessup
 
INDIVIDUAL RESULTS: 1. Karis Frankian (The Master's College) 17:53.3; 2. Kate Bouvatte 18:12.1; 3. 8. Raelyn Werley 18:35.8; 16. Natalie Rodriguez 18:37.2; 33. Salena Gallardo 18:56.9; 55. Charlotte Kuzminsky 19:04.3; 90. Terra McGinnis 19:17.9; 127. Anahi Soriano 19:19.5;