Fresno State Athletics
Harriers Off To Compete At Sacramento State Invitational
9/12/2006 12:00:00 AM | Cross Country
Sept. 12, 2006
Fresno State Cross Country Complete Release in PDF Format
Download Free Acrobat Reader
FRESNO, Calif. -
Fresno State at Sacramento State Invitational
After a weekend off, the Fresno State men and women's cross country teams are on the road at the Sacramento State on Sat., Sept. 16, at Granite Regional Park. The men will run an 8K at 8:45 a.m. and the women will run a 5K at 9:30 a.m.
McCurley Garners WAC Athlete of the Week Honors
Freshman James McCurley (Clovis, Calif.) made his collegiate debut two weeks ago for the Bulldogs and made an immediate impact. With the team taking third at the CS Stanislaus Invitational, McCurley crossed the finish line as the top collegiate runner, second overall, after clocking an 8K time of 26:12. For his efforts, he captured Western Athletic Conference Male Runner of the Week honors for Mon., Sept. 4.
CS Stanislaus Invitational in Review
Setting five Fresno State 6K all-time top 25 marks in the opening weekend, the women successfully defended their crown and have captured seven of the last nine Stanislaus titles. Tallying 25 points and boasting seven of the meet's top 10 finishers, the Bulldogs were led in the 6,000-meter race by senior Zinzi Evans (Oakland, Calif.), sophomore Roxanne Sellick (Fresno, Calif.), junior Patty Torres (Porterville, Calif.), freshman Marissa McPhail (Crotton, Md.) and sophomore Paloma Dominguez (Corcoran, Calif.). While both posted a time of 23:45, Evans finished third overall and Sellick placed fourth. Making her collegiate debut, McPhail clocked 24:07 for a sixth place showing. Finishing fifth and seventh, respectively, Torres (23:55) and Dominguez (24:10) each recorded personal-best times. Also for the Bulldogs, freshmen Jennifer Hernandez (Van Nuys, Calif.) and Meri Hawkins (Royal Oaks, Calif.) finished among the top 10 in their first college meet. Hernandez finished eighth (24:14) while Hawkins (24:18) placed ninth among the college runners and tenth overall. Freshmen Jocelyn Oviedo (Mission Hills, Calif.) and Sasha Souder (Thousand Oaks, Calif.) made their Bulldog debuts as well. Oviedo placed 14th (25:39) while Souder ran a time of 26:49 for a 22nd place showing. Wrapping up the 11-runner entry for Fresno State was junior Nancy Rodriguez (Tulare, Calif.) and senior Emily Pegan (Manhattan Beach, Calif.). Rodriguez finished 26th overall (27:43) while Pegan clocked a personal-best 6K time of 32:55 (30th). On the men's side, McCurley finished as the top collegiate runner by posting an 8K time of 26:12. Freshman Brandon Geis (Fresno, Calif.) and sophomore Allan Williamson (Fresno, Calif.) finished 11th (27:18) and 12th (27:21), respectively, among the collegiate runners and 12th and 13th, respectively, overall. Freshman Jack Welter placed 20th among the collegiate runners and 23rd overall (30:59) and junior Mike Gerald (Woodland, Calif.). finished 22nd among the collegians and 25th overall (30:59).
School's 6K List Boasts Eight Current Bulldogs
While Evans and Sellick already are listed among the school's all-time Top 25 6K times, five more Bulldogs joined the school's chart after the first weekend: Torres (No. 16), McPhail (No. 18), Dominguez (No. T19), Hernandez (No. 21) and Hawkins (No. 23). The school's all-time 6K Top 25 list now boasts eight current runners. Under second-year head coach Joe Gonzales, the `Dogs have established 11 of the Top 25 6K marks at the Stanislaus Invite.
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. He began his coaching career at Exeter, where he started as a volunteer assistant for the cross country team in 1990. In 1995, he became the head cross country coach for both the boys and girls programs. Gonzales then served as the head track & field coach at Exeter from 1998-2000. 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.
42nd Annual Watermelon Run in Review
Eleven Watermelon Run Top 10 marks for men and women combined were set on Sat., Aug. 26 at the 42nd Annual Watermelon Run. For Fresno State, a trio of Bulldogs led by example and showed why they will be considered the top scoring threats for the `Dogs this season. Evans, Sellick and junior Marina Santana (Woodland Hills, Calif.) set three Top 25 all-time school records in the 2-mile. Finishing sixth among the women's field, Evans ran a time of 11:23 and now ranks No. T13 all-time at Fresno State. She shattered her mark set last year at the Watermelon Run in which she posted a then Top 20 time of 11:34. Sellick placed seventh with a time of 11:23.92. She moves up to No. 16 after clocking a time of 11:25 a year ago at the Watermelon Run. Santana jumped into the school's Top 25 2-mile list. Finishing ninth with a time of 11:32, she ranks 21st overall. Last year, she ran 12:07 to finish 13th in the 2-mile Watermelon Run.
'Dogs Host 2006 WAC Cross Country Championship
Fresno State will host its third WAC Cross Country Championship since joining the league. With Woodward Park serving as the WAC venue in 1999 and '97, Fresno State also 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
