Fresno State Athletics
Fresno State
Asics/UC Irvine Invitational
'Dogs Take Third in Irvine
9/12/2009 12:00:00 AM | Cross Country
Sept. 12, 2009
FRESNO, Calif. - In the first true test of the cross country season, the Fresno State men answered the call with a third place finish.
The Bulldogs took on the 20 opposing teams at the Asics/ UC Irvine Invitational Saturday in Irvine, Calif., and came away with bronze, led by Erick Garcia's tenth place finish in the 8K.
Roxanne Sellick answered on the women's side with an 11th place finish to lead the women's team in the 5K.
For the second week in a row, the Bulldog newcomers came through for the men's team. With three freshman and one transfer finishing among the team's top six, cross country coach Sean McManus pointed to newcomers as the day's standouts.
"Although Erick (Garcia) led the team, it was the newcomers who were really the stars," said McManus. "They did as well, if not better than I expected them to do, so I would say that is really our highlight today."
Freshman Danny Vartanian stepped into a leadership role for the second time in his young career, to fill in the No. 2 spot for Fresno State. Vartanian timed a 25:48.60 in his first-ever 8K race, taking 21st overall and 15th among collegiate competitors.
"Danny did a really good job today, especially for his first 8K," said McManus. "Having him as our No. 2 guy today is really solid, especially since he is only a freshman."
Paul Zwama and Carson Keller crossed together at 42nd and 43rd respectively. Zwama, a junior transfer competing in his first 8K for Fresno State, timed a 26:17.80. Keller, a freshman also running in his first collegiate 8K, clocked a 26:19.20.
"We have a really young group that is doing a really good job," said McManus.
The upperclassmen leadership of Garcia and Frank Sanders turned in good races as well, finishing in first and third for the team.
Garcia proved ready for his junior season, crossing the finish line at 25:30.50 to finish first among Bulldog competitors, eighth among collegiate student-athletes, and tenth among the more than 200 racers.
"Erick wanted to be in the Top 10," said McManus. "But he had a solid first race out and he had a better time this year than he did at this same race last year. So it was a good race to start out for him."
The team's lone senior, Frank Sanders, crossed at 26:09.60 as the team's third finisher for 33rd overall.
All five Bulldog scorers finished among the Top 50 overall competitors, staying easily within the top quarter of the 214 competitors.
For the women, Sellick, a redshirt senior, led the team for the second week in a row. Sellick found success in her first 5K in more than two years, timing an impressive 18:02.50 for 11th out of 114 racers.
Marissa McPhail ran a solid race for the `Dogs, filling in the No. 2 spot for the team. The senior timed an 18:34.50 for 25th.
"Marissa was probably the best of our women today because she was right on the goals we had set for her before the race," said McManus. "We had set a goal of finishing in the Top 25 and around 18:30 for her and she did just that today."
Veronica Paredes and Jennifer Hernandez ran together to finish third and fourth on the team. Paredes ran her first 5K for Fresno State, timing a 19:14.60 for 63rd. Hernandez paced alongside Paredes, crossing just a step behind for 64th at 19:16.10. Marrijtje Molenhuis made her Bulldog debut Saturday, rounding out Fresno State's scorers with a 19:32.20 finish for 83rd.
All five of the women's team scorers timed in under 20 minutes to average just over six minutes per mile.
"We have a very inexperienced group on the women's side," said McManus. "Out of our ten running today, six of them were competing in their first or second college race. So we have a long way to go gaining experience. It's not what we were looking for, but we know we are getting over the hump to where we want to be as a team."
Fresno State will take a week off before the squad splits to compete at both the Stanford and Roadrunner Invitationals on Sept. 26.
Men's 8K - 3rd/21 (110)
10. Erick Garcia, 25:30.50 (8)
21. Danny Vartanian, 25:48.60 (15)
33. Frank Sanders, 26:09.60 (24)
42. Paul Zwama, 26:17.80 (31)
43. Carson Keller, 26:19.20 (32)
46. Michael Jamieson, 26:24.80 (34)
52. Elijah Carrillo, 26:31.60 (38)
119. Mitchell Pfyl, 28:03.10
Women's 5K - 11th/13 (226)
11. Roxanne Sellick, 18:02.50 (11)
25. Marissa McPhail, 18:34.30 (24)
63. Veronica Paredes, 19:14.60 (57)
64. Jennifer Hernandez, 19:16.10 (59)
83. Marrijtje Molenhuis, 19:32.20 (75)
90. Pamela Cruz, 19:45.70 (77)
114. Stevie Brumwell, 20:32.20 (86)
132. Taylor Votaw, 21:28.90
134. Julianne Warmerdam, 21:32.90
144. Jocelyn Oviedo, 22:10.40
"We Are Your Team!" For all the up to date information on the Fresno State cross country team log on to gobulldogs.com.
Players Mentioned
