Women's 6K Results

Pomona, Calif.— Not even adding extra distance can slow the Cougars down. The No. 2 ranked Cal State San Marcos women's cross country team, competing in their only 6K of the season instead of the normal 5-kilometer race, were unfazed by the added race length, easily running away from the field of 11 teams at the Pomona-Pitzer Invitational Saturday morning.

Having won the race each of the last two seasons, the Cougars defended their title once again, scoring just 26 points, far ahead of the closest competitor Cal Poly Pomona, who had 55. Claremont-Mudd Scripps finished third with 128.

Crossing the finish line first was senior Kelly Thompson— her first individual victory at the college level. Thompson, who has been a part of three national championship squads and has twice been named an NAIA cross country All-American, led the field with a time of 21:39, over 22 seconds ahead of the next competitor Melissa Skiba from Cal Lutheran. Kelly has finished second and third at the A.I.I. Conference meet over the last two seasons, and is certainly a contender to win the individual conference title this year.

Also in the mix will be junior All-American Chelsey Cortez, who was on her way to an impressive 20-second victoy over the field Saturday until taking a wrong turn that brought her back to the middle of the pack. Cortez handled the mishap in stride and with class, impressing both Coach Steve Scott and many onlookers.

Juniors Heidi Swanson and Ayded Reyes finished third and fourth overall for the Cougars, running 22:24 and 22:28 respectively. Lauren Cortez, the top-finishing freshman in the race, came in eighth overall in 22:53, and junior Michelle Cruz capped off the Cougar scorers in tenth place in 23:03. Freshman Meghan Hamlin was less than a second behind in 23:04, giving the Cougars six out of the top 11 individual finishers.

The Cougars, who have won eight out of their last nine races since the UC Riverside Invitational last season, will compete next on Saturday October 13 at the Santa Clara Invitational. This will be the first time CSUSM has ever competed in the meet.