Bulldogs Travel To San Francisco State Invitational
10/1/2006 12:00:00 AM | Cross Country
Oct. 1, 2006
FRESNO, Calif. -
Fresno State Cross Country Complete Release in PDF Format
Download Free Acrobat Reader
Fresno State at San Francisco State Invitational
The Fresno State men and women's cross country teams are competing at the San Francisco State Invitational, which will be held on Sat., Oct. 7. The men will run an 8K race starting at 8:15 a.m. with the women's 6K meet to follow at 9:00 a.m. The women last ran at the San Francisco State Invitational in 2003 when they finished second out of 11 teams. The men last competed in 2000 when they won the San Francisco State Invitational title.
Evans and Sellick Are One-Two Punch
Senior Zinzi Evans (Oakland, Calif.) and sophomore Roxanne Sellick (Fresno, Calif.) were two of top three scorers last season. This year, both continue to take the leadership role as they have finished one-two, respectively, for the Bulldogs this season. Evans, who never ran cross country in high school, has been one of the program's top five runners since her sophomore year. To date, she has competed in 21 career meets and is ranked in No. 4 all-time in the school's 6K list (22:39) while having posted the school's 13th-fastest 2-mile mark of 11:23 at the 2006 Watermelon Run. Sellick has run in all 12 meets since last season. In her collegiate debut, she posted the school's second-fastest 2-mile run by a freshman (11:25) at the 2005 Watermelon Run and improved upon that mark this season with a time of 11:23 to rank No. 16 all-time. She also ranks No. 10 in the school's 6K list (23:14). In Evans' career, she has finished as the 'Dogs top finisher in three meets -- all this season -- and has been the No. 2 runner in five races since last year. Sellick has been the 'Dogs No. 2 runner in four meets to date and the program's No. 3 runner in six races dating back to last season.
School's 6K List Boasts Eight Current Bulldogs
The women continue to assault the school's all-time 6,000-meter Top 25 list. While eight current runners are listed on this chart, the Bulldogs continue to improve their times and move up the list as well. Five are ranked in the top 15 and of those five three are underclassmen. Last weekend at the Stanford Invitational, six Top 20 times were set: Evans (No. 4, 22:39), Jennifer Hernandez (No. 8, 22:59), Sellick (No. 10, 23:14), Marissa McPhail (No. 13, 23:30), Patty Torres (No. 15, 23:38) and Marina Santana (No. 20, 24:01). In the season opener at the CS Stanislaus Invitational, Paloma Dominguez (No. 21, 24:10) and Meri Hawkins (No. 23, 24:18) also established Top 25 6K times.
Stanford Invitational in Review
Coming off a bye week, the men and women each competed at the Stanford Invitational. The men did extremely well with a third place showing out of seven teams. Finishing behind meet winner and fourth-ranked Stanford (15 points) and second place finisher Loyola Marymount (67), the Bulldogs scored 83 points and had its five scoring runners all finish among the top 25. Freshman Brandon Geis and Frank Sanders were one-two for the `Dogs as Geis finished eighth (13:17) and Sanders placed 10th (13:20). Sophomore Allan Williamson ran 13:35 to finish 18th overall while freshman Tony Rojas, Jr., clocked a time of 13:50 to place 23rd. Junior Mike Gerald finished 24th (13:55) while freshman Jack Welter placed 31st (14:59). The women, who competed against top-ranked and meet winner Stanford, finished 13th in the 17 team field. The Bulldogs established six new 6,000-meter all-time school marks with their top five scorers posting times that sit among the top 15 and their sixth runner giving them times all in the top 20. Evans was the top `Dog for Fresno State for the third straight meet of the season. Setting a new career-best 6K time of 22:39, she finished 50th overall. Freshman Jennifer Hernandez finished second for Fresno State and 62nd overall. Her time of 22:59 moved her into the top 10 as she sits in the eighth spot after clocking a then personal-best time of 24:14 in the season-opener (CS Stanislaus Invitational). Sellick also notched a career-best 6K time of 23:14 to finish 70th overall. Like Evans, Sellick posted her then personal-best time of 23:31 at the 2005 NCAA Western Region. Freshman Marissa McPhail overcame a fall to place 78th overall but more importantly posted a time of 23:30 to rank No. 13 on Fresno State's all-time 6K list. Juniors Patty Torres and Marina Santana also got in the fun by establishing personal-best marks as well. Torres, who finished 84th, had a time of 23:38 for the 15th-fastest 6K school time while Santana, who finished 94th, clocked the school's 20th-fastest time (24:01).
McCurley Garners WAC Athlete of the Week Honors
Freshman James McCurley (Clovis, Calif.) made his collegiate debut at the CS Stanislaus Invitational and helped the Bulldogs to a third place finish while crossing the line as the top collegiate runner. Finishing second overall, he ran an 8K time of 26:12 and was honored for his efforts by being named Western Athletic Conference Male Runner of the Week (Sept. 4).
Head Coach Joe Gonzales
In his second season as the head coach of the Fresno State women's cross country program and making his second stint as head coach of the men's program, Joe Gonzales has been a longtime assistant with the Fresno State track program. Entering his seventh year as an assistant coach in charge of the distance runners, he previously coached the Fresno State men's cross country program for three years (2000-02). Last season, Gonzales directed the women's program to a top five Western Athletic Conference finish, a trip to the NCAA Western Region and had one All-WAC performer. During his tenure as the men's cross country coach, Gonzales led the team to three top five finishes in the WAC, finishing fifth in 2001 and '02 along with a third place finish in 2000. Four runners also received All-WAC honors during that time. All told, Gonzales has had four consecutive top five finishes for the Bulldogs' men and women's program while coaching five all-conference runners. Prior to entering his coaching career at Fresno State, Gonzales served as a coach at Exeter Union High School. In his 10 years at Exeter, he led the girls' cross country team to five league championships and a section title and the girls' track and field team to two league crowns. He guided the boys' cross country team to a pair of league titles. Gonzales graduated from Fresno State with a bachelor of science degree in liberal studies.
'Dogs Host 2006 WAC Cross Country Championship
On Oct. 28, Fresno State will host its third WAC Cross Country Championship since joining the league. With Woodward Park serving as the WAC venue for the third time (2006, '99 and '97), Fresno State will host its ninth overall a cross country conference championship. Fresno State also was the host school for the six Pacific Coast Athletic Association Conference championships (1986, '83, '82, '81, '74 and '68). Fresno State will have hosted 18 major events, including 14 NCAA Region/District championships, at Woodward Park.
Players Mentioned
