Fresno State Athletics
Fresno State
Pepperdine Invitational
Bulldog Men Take Second at Pepperdine
10/4/2008 12:00:00 AM | Cross Country
Oct. 4, 2008
Complete Women's Results in PDF Format 
Complete Men's Results in PDF Format
FRESNO, Calif. - Both the men's and women's cross country teams put on strong displays of leadership and endurance at the Pepperdine Invitational Saturday. The men took second in the nine-team event, led by sophomore Erick Garcia's first-place individual finish.
The women were unable to score as a team, due to an injury to the fifth runner. However, each of the four racers completing the race showed dramatic individual improvement.
"I'm really proud of the way both teams ran today," said cross country coach Sean McManus.
Garcia defended his title, winning the men's 8K for the second year in a row with a time of 24:25.19.
"The guys did a really good job," said McManus. "We went in with a team plan of everyone running together, which meant that Erick and Frank both had to hold back for a bit."
The Bulldogs ran together, keeping at least five of the teammates among the top 20 throughout the race. After running alongside Eric Battles and working their way up the hill together, Garcia was ready to cut loose.
"I told Erick that if he wanted to go ahead and run his own race, he could," said McManus.
Within about 30 seconds, Garcia spotted the race's frontrunner and just one mile later Garcia was striding alongside the leader. Garcia paced with him for a half mile before pulling away in the final mile to win the race by five seconds.
Junior Frank Sanders ran a similar race, running alongside his teammates through the first three miles, before opening up his pace. Sanders would finish in third clocking in at 25:11.96.
After racing alongside Garcia most of the race, Battles was able to maintain his pace to time in at 25:44.17 for a tenth-place finish. Max Hernandez and Brandon Geis benefited from running together, crossing the finish line at 26:09.01 and 26:11.32, respectively.
"We accomplished our goal of getting those younger guys more comfortable with the 8K races of college cross country," said McManus. "We're looking forward to where this goes from here."
On the women's side, the individual marks brightened the day.
"Individually, the women improved a lot," said McManus. "But it was disappointing we couldn't field a women's score."
Marissa McPhail continued to lead the Bulldogs, this time setting the pace, not just for Fresno State, but for the entire race.
"I was really proud of Marissa," said McManus. "She went out front early. She didn't play around and took the pace. The USC girls were holding back a little and she forced them to pick it up."
After leading early, McPhail was overcome by USC's Zsofia Erdelyi and Sarah Cocco and then saw herself slipping from the top ten.
Nearing the final mile, McPhail battled back for a top-five finish at 21:55.49.
"She ran a really gutsy race and I'm really impressed," said McManus.
Junior Jennifer Hernandez set a new personal best in Malibu, Calif., timing in at 21:55.49, nearly eight seconds ahead of her previous best. She finished in 12th, less than a second outside the top-ten. Briana Cleary had a season-best 22:15.61 on the day to take 20th. Jocelyn Oviedo rounded out the Bulldog contingent with a time of 26:04.45.
Fresno State travels to the UCSD Triton Classic on Oct. 11.
Men's Results 2nd/9
1. Erick Garcia, 24:45.19
3. Frank Sanders, 25:11.96
10. Eric Battles, 25:44.17
22. Max Hernandez, 26:09.01
23. Brandon Geis, 26:11.32
28. Elijah Carillo, 26:35.40
41. Mitchell Pfyl, 27:12.72
55. Philip Jadot, 27:51.02
86. Joseph Martinez, 30:39.48
Women's Results
5. Marissa McPhail, 21:23.51
12. Jennifer Hernandez, 21:55.49
20. Briana Cleary, 22:15.61
70. Jocelyn Oviedo, 26:04.45
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