Fresno State Athletics
Fresno State
Nevada Twilight
Men Take Second, Women Third in Cross Country Opener
8/29/2008 12:00:00 AM | Cross Country
Aug. 29, 2008
Complete Men's Results in PDF Format
Complete Women's Results in PDF Format 
FRESNO, Calif. - Erick Garcia paced the Fresno State men's cross country team in their 2008 debut at the Nevada Twilight in Reno, Nev. Friday. The women's team also had a solid first-showing, taking third behind the driving force of Marissa McPhail.
"I was really impressed with how the team performed," said coach Sean McManus. "And Erick had a great race."
Garcia dominated the men's competition, finishing first among collegiate competitors in the 6K. The sophomore's time of 20:53 led the Bulldogs to a second place finish as a team.
"Erick was excited with the way he ran in the season opener," said McManus.
Eric Battles, running in his first collegiate race, was a spark to the team lineup with a seventh place finish at 21:56. Max Hernandez, Mitchell Pfyl, and Elijah Carillo crossed in succession, taking 11th, 12th and 13th, respectively, rounding out Fresno State's top five.
"We talked about controlling our efforts and running as a team," said McManus. "Everyone was paired with one or two others on the team, so we could work on helping each other throughout the race. Erick [Garcia] ran with the group for the first half of the race and then I told him to go ahead if he felt good at that point. So he spotted the leader group and overcame them."
The women took third in the team event, behind Nevada and UC Riverside. Marissa McPhail led the Bulldog women, finishing in eighth with a time of 16:50. Jennifer Hernandez found her stride, stepping into the second spot for the Bulldogs. Her time of 17:10 put her solidly in 14th place. Briana Cleary filled in the third spot for Fresno State, clocking in at 17:53 for 24th. Megan Poindexter's 18:44 was the team's fourth-best time for the night, taking 31st overall. Jocelyn Oviedo crossed in 20:34 to complete the team's scorers.
"The women did an excellent job," said McManus. "I told them I wanted them to go out conservatively and were working on that running as a team and helping each other. Marissa could have finished higher if we had sent her out with the mission on her own, but working together really helped us as a team. Jenny came up and almost made the top 10. She was really exciting to watch."
The Bulldogs return to competition on Sept. 6 for the Asics/ UC Irvine Invitational.
"If we keep progressing, we're going to do really well when WAC rolls around," said McManus.
Women's Results (4K) - 3rd/6
9. Marissa McPhail, 16:50
14. Jennifer Hernandez, 17:10
24. Briana Cleary, 17:53
31. Megan Poindexter, 18:44
39. Jocelyn Oviedo, 20:34
44. Sasha Souder, 21:07
Men's Results (6K) - 2nd/4
2. Erick Garcia, 20:53
7. Eric Battles, 21:56
11. Max Hernandez, 22:30
12. Mitchell Pfyl, 22:37
13. Elijah Carillo, 22:39
15. Brandon Geis, 22:48
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