SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. – Vahagn Isayan collected his first victory as a Cougar in the men's 8,000m at the Coyote Challenge on Saturday to cap off a successful morning for the Cal State San Marcos men's and women's cross country teams. Natalie Rodriguez and Raelyn Werley picked up second and third place results, respectively, to guide the women's team to a second place finish with 44 points, while the men's team finished fourth with 97 points.

Isayan posted a time of 26:06.83, 11.9 seconds better than the runner-up, to earn his second top two finish of the season. Steven Terris joined Isayan in the top 10, finishing seventh overall with a time of 26:45.38.

"Vahagn and Steven ran really well, we have been very strong up front this season," said head coach Steve Scott.

Freshmen Kevin Lehr (27:17.67) and Phillip Dorado (27:49.33) were the next to cross the tape for the Cougars, finishing 22nd and 35th overall, respectively. Easton Tackett (27:51.19) rounded out the top five for the Cougars, finishing 35th overall, with A.J. Freund taking the sixth spot and placing 40th overall with a time of 28:03.93.

"We were missing three of our top five, with Joshua Litwiller and Justin Washington out today and Enrique Ramirez done for the season with an injury," Scott said. "(The men) still performed well and we should be close to full strength next week."

On the women's side, Rodriguez (18:39.46) picked up her second top two result of the season and Werley (19:05.33) finished in the top three for the second time. Lisa Flora placed sixth with a time of 19:17.01 and Paula Stonehouse finished eighth with a mark of 19:26.34.

Freshman Jessica Ferguson has grown stronger each race, finishing 37th overall with a time of 20:25.70 to grab the fifth spot for the Cougars. Alicia Villarreal (20:44.30) and Arianna Garcia-Swantek (20:47.47) finished 43rd and 46th overall, respectively.

"The women performed well in some tough racing conditions," Scott said. "We are looking forward to next week.

Cal Baptist picked up the victory on the men's 8000m with 60 points, while California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) rival and host Cal State San Bernardino won the women's 5000m with 26 points.

The Cougars are back in action on Saturday, Oct. 1 at the Mustang Challenge in Santa Clarita, Calif.

MEN'S 8K TEAM RESULTS
1. Cal Baptist  - 60 (2 3 14 15 26 29 41)
2. Claremont-Mudd-Scripps - 63 (8 9 13 16 17 31 32)
3. UC San Diego - 77 (6 11 18 19 23 24 28)
4. Cal St. San Marcos – 97 (1 7 22 33 34 36)
5. Dixie State - 107 (4 21 25 27 30 38 43)
6. Vanguard - 149 (5 10 42 45 47)
7. Chapman - 174 (12 37 39 40 46 54 57)
8. East LA - 241 (35 50 51 52 53 55 58)
9. Cal St. Los Angeles - 243 (20 48 56 59 60)
10. San Diego Mesa - 279 (44 49 61 62 63 64)
 
MEN'S 8K INDIVIDUAL RESULTS
(Top 5 Runners + CSUSM Runners):
1 Vahagn Isayan (Cal St. San Marcos) - 26:06.83
2 Dennis Messmer (Cal Baptist) - 26:18.73
3 Jayden Emerson (Cal Baptist) - 26:32.14
4 Hunter Chamberlain (Dixie State) - 26:32.73
5 Zach Hunt (Vanguard) - 26:34.53
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7. Steven Terris (Cal St. San Marcos) - 26:45.38
22. Kevin Lehr (Cal St. San Marcos) - 27:17.67
35. Phillip Dorado (Cal St. San Marcos) - 27:49.33
36. Easton Tackett (Cal St. San Marcos) - 27:51.19
40. A.J. Freund (Cal St. San Marcos) - 28:03.93
 
WOMEN'S 5K TEAM RESULTS
1. Cal St. San Bernardino - 26 (1 4 5 7 9 18 21)
2. Cal St. San Marcos - 48 (2 3 6 8 29 34 36)
3. Claremont-Mudd-Scripps - 65 (10 11 12 15 17 19 20)
4. Dixie State - 117 (16 22 25 26 28 39 46)
5. Cal St. Los Angeles - 141 (13 23 24 30 51 53 55)
6. Western New Mexico - 157 (14 32 33 38 40 47 54)
7. Chapman - 198 (35 37 41 42 43 44 45)
8. Vanguard - 205 (27 31 48 49 50 52)
 
WOMEN'S 5K INDIVIDUAL RESULTS
(Top 5 Runners + CSUSM Runners):
1. Laura Aceves (Cal St. San Bernardino) - 17:47.94
2. Natalie Rodriguez (Cal St. San Marcos) - 18:39.46
3. Raelyn Werley, (Cal St. San Marcos) - 19:05.33
4. Delaney Ellsworth (Cal St. San Bernardino) - 19:15.16
5. Michelle Pineda (Cal St. San Bernardino) - 19:16.02
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6. Lisa Flora (Cal St. San Marcos) - 19:17.01
8. Paula Stonehouse (Cal St. San Marcos) - 19:26.34
37. Jessica Ferguson (Cal St. San Marcos) - 20:25.70
43. Alicia Villarreal (Cal St. San Marcos) - 20:44.30
46. Arianna Garcia-Swantek (Cal St. San Marcos) - 20:47.47
76. Dezirae Soria (Cal St. San Marcos) - 21:47.60
77. Jocelyn Veyna (Cal St. San Marcos) - 21:50.91
82. Bridget Cassidy (Cal St. San Marcos)  - 22:07.99