8K Men's ResultsPOMONA, Calif.— Winning races is becoming commonplace for the Cal State San Marcos men's cross country team. Not that it takes away any of the fun. With a runaway victory at the Pomona-Pitzer Invitational Saturday, the No. 2 ranked Cougars won for the 10th time in their past 17 races, dating back to October of 2010. It also marked the second victory in three races this season.
In Saturday's competition, it wasn't so much that the Cougars won the race, but it was more in the dominant manner of how they did so. With the duo of two-time NAIA All-Americans
Daniel Lyon and Western Nelson up front, CSUSM took control of the race from the starting gun. Lyon and Nelson were the only two finishers under 25:15, with Lyon winning the race in 24:31 and Nelson placing second in 24:53.
The depth of the Cougars beyond Lyon and Nelson proved to be a tough match for their competition once again, as Ryan Carrel from Cal Poly Pomona was the only competing athlete to break up the Cougars top five. Carrel finished in third in 25:16, with a trio of CSUSM outstanding freshman right behind him:
Steven Ing (4th, 25:18),
Michael Hewitt (5th, 25:20), and Zachary Laurenzana (6th, 25:35).
Ryan Jensen and
Deng Akuien displaced the majority of scorers from other teams, finishing 10th
and 12th overall. As a team, the Cougars recorded an average team time of 25:08, with second place Pomona-Pitzer behind on average of over 45 seconds per runner at 25:53.
The Cougars, who have won the race each of the last three years, finished an average of 26 seconds per runner faster than last year's team that went on to finish second at the NAIA National Championships. Coach
Steve Scott was very impressed with the performance, and "would be surprised if the Cougars don't overtake Southern Oregon for the No. 1 ranking in the next coaches' poll."
The Cougars will be off next Saturday before traveling to the Santa Clara Invitational on Saturday October 13, and then returning home for the Cougar Challenge Saturday, October 20 at the Mangrum Track and Soccer Field.
