Fresno State Athletics
Fresno State
Bronco Invitational
Garcia Dominates Santa Clara Invite
10/18/2008 12:00:00 AM | Cross Country
Oct. 18, 2008
Complete Results in PDF Format 
FRESNO, Calif. - Erick Garcia won his second invitational of the season Saturday, beating out 136 other racers to take the individual title at the Santa Clara Invitational. The Bulldog women were 12th, driven by a personal-best by junior Jennifer Hernandez.
"The guys had a great day today," said cross country coach Sean McManus. "And the women have come a long way since last month."
Garcia ran a stellar 24:37 in the 8K, one of three Bulldogs to finish in the top 25 as Fresno State took sixth as a team. Junior Frank Sanders came through in the clutch, placing eighth at 24:56. Freshman Eric Battles put in a personal-best 25:27 for 17th as the Bulldog's third finisher. Elijah Carillo's 25:58 earned him a 45th finish in the race. The fifth Bulldog to cross the finish line was Brandon Geis, who took 61st at 26:14.
"We knew going in it would be a good race for Erick," said McManus. "The field included people he's faced before at the WAC and at the Stanford Invitational, so he knew it would be a group he could run with."
Garcia ran with the front group throughout the race, maintaining a comfortable pace.
"Erick was giving me a thumbs-up sign at the three and four-mile marks as he ran with the pack," McManus said. "He waited for until the very end and had a better kick than the other guy."
Garcia overcame Boise State's Sawyer Bosh in the last stretch before the finish line. Last season, Bosh took seventh at the WAC Championships while Garcia finished 11th.
"We had talked as a team trying to beat anyone from a WAC school at the end of the race," said McManus. "We took down one or two WAC guys in the last mile, so the guys were pretty pumped."
According to McManus, Battles ran "the best race of anyone on the team."
"He's learning how to run this distance and I've seen him getting more confident each time," said McManus. "He passed up a group of 10 guys in the last mile and then overcame them in the final 400-meters."
The men's sixth place finish of the 14 teams competing showed promise for the upcoming WAC Championships.
"Things are coming around nicely for us with WAC right around the corner," said McManus.
The women's team was paced by a new leader Saturday as Hernandez found her stride in Santa Clara.
"Jennifer had a PR today, coming through the field," said McManus. "She was more conservative in the beginning and built confidence as she passed people up throughout."
Hernandez placed 34th out of 143 racers with her personal-best of 18:18. Not far back were teammates Marissa McPhail and Briana Cleary, who finished in 47th and 52nd with times of 18:32 and 18:36 respectively. Megan Poindexter crossed at 19:39 and Jocelyn Oviedo timed in 21:10.
"We'll just keep getting better in the two weeks before WAC and at the Regionals," said McManus.
Men's Results - 6th/13
1. Erick Garcia, 24:37
11. Frank Sanders, 24:56
24. Eric Battles, 25:27
55. Elijah Carillo, 25:58
75. Brandon Geis, 26:14
96. Max Hernandez, 26:47
106. Mitchell Pfyl, 27:03
Women's Results - 12th/17
34. Jennifer Hernandez, 18:18
47. Marissa McPhail, 18:32
52. Briana Cleary, 18:36
100. Megan Poindexter, 19:39
131. Jocelyn Oviedo, 21:10
"Join the State - Fresno State! The Bulldogs will travel to Logan, Utah, for the WAC Championships on Nov. 1.
Players Mentioned
