Times Drop As Conference Championship Nears
With the California Pacific Conference Championship meet less than three weeks away, runners across the conference are paring times as they prepare for the decisive race of the season. Two teams have emerged as the top contenders for both the men's and women's team titles. On the men's side, No. 25 Embry-Riddle will attempt to take home its ninth consecutive Cal Pac crown, but the Eagles will get some heavy competition from UC Merced, which has been building depth on its roster to challenge ERAU. The story is much the same on the women's side—No. 15 ERAU will going after its eighth straight team title, and its biggest competitor will be the Bobcats, who are consistently posting impressive times.
There are a growing number of runners who will challenge for the individual titles in both races, but, with a few exceptions, the fastest times have been recorded by ERAU and UCM runners
On the men's side, the top 10 times recorded this Fall have come from either an Eagle or and Bobcat, and all but three of those times were accomplished in Saturday's meets. ERAU was at the Highlander Invitational, where Doutimi Fakrogha finished the 8k course in 25:46, the second-best mark this season. Teammates Darren Mudge (26:02), Luke Stratton (26:30), and Jacob Block (26:49) all ran season-best times at the meet. UCM ran at the Bronco Invitational and took 8th place behind several strong performances. At the top of the list was Jonathan Chavez, who ran a 25:33—the fastest time to date in the Cal Pac—while Sharvin Manjrekar (25:58) and Noah Vasquez (26:24) also posted top-ten times in the meet. Westcliff's Kelvin Kiptoo, the Cal Pac September Runner of the Month, was scratched from the Highlander Invitational, but will be ready to challenge the leaders in the Cal Pac Championship.
Park-Gilbert's Allena Rowland, who ran a 19:49 at the UCR Invitational a month ago and followed that up with a 20:44 two weeks later, figures to run with the leaders of the pack in the women's 5k. But beyond that, the top times this season have come from ERAU and UCM runners. The fastest run this year came from UCM's Elizette Ysais, who clocked a 21:56 in the Santa Clara Bronco Invitational 6k last Saturday. Her 10th place finish in a field of 185 runners was her third top-ten finish in as many meets this season, and she established a program record in the 6k, topping the previous program record by 35 seconds. She also has recorded the top 5k time this season, clocking a 19:29 at the Seawolf Invitational back on Sept. 3. Fellow Bobcats Alexandra Lopez (19:54), Anjaneesa Ward (20:23), and Carissa Estrada (20:56) have all turned in top ten times this season, giving UCM a strong shot at dethroning ERAU. But ERAU seems up to the challenge as the Eagles have depth and experience in Josey Gregory, Josephine Banks, Makenna Bray, Emma Lewis, Bones Parker, and Lizzie Simon.
RECENT RESULTS
Saturday, Oct. 15
SANTA CLARA BRONCO INVITATIONAL, at Sunnyvale, Calif.
UC Merced 5th of 17 teams
UCM: Elizette Ysais (10th) 21:56
UC Merced 8th of 17 teams
UCM: Jonathan Chavez (40th) 25:33
HIGHLANDER INVITATIONAL, at Riverside, Calif.
No. 15 Embry-Riddle 12th of 26
ERAU: Josephine Banks (47th) 21:28
Westcliff no team score
WU: Natalia Ojeda (276th) 36:16
No. 25 Embry-Riddle 18th of 25 teams
ERAU: Doutimi Fakrogha (93rd) 25:46
Westcliff no team score
WU: Emmanuel Cheruiyot (251st) 29:21
UPCOMING MEETS
Friday, Oct. 21
JOHN ELDERS TITAN INVITE, at Fullerton, Calif.
La Sierra, Pacific Union, Park-Gilbert
Saturday, Oct. 22
WARRIOR INVITATIONAL, at Rocklin, Calif.
Soka, UC Merced
Friday, Oct. 4
CALIFORNIA PACIFIC CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIPS
Hosted by UC Merced at Woodward Park, Fresno, Calif.