Fresno State Athletics
Saturday, October 3
Salem, OR
TBA
Fresno State
at
Charles Bowles Invitational
Bulldogs wrap up Charles Bowles Invitational
10/3/2026 5:47:00 PM | Cross Country
SALEM, Ore. – The Fresno State cross country team continued its 2026 season Friday at the 51st Charles Bowles Willamette XC Invitational, with the Bulldogs taking advantage of a change in scenery and cooler conditions to turn in several strong individual performances.
The Bulldog women were led by a trio of top-11 finishes in the 5K. Chiara Pedol paced Fresno State for the second consecutive meet, placing seventh overall with a time of 17:36.7.
Rhiannon Walker and Ashley Villafana Rodriguez crossed the line within four seconds of each other, placing 10th and 11th, respectively. Walker clocked a personal-best 17:50.3, while Villafana Rodriguez also recorded a personal best at 17:54.2.
"Chiara, Rhi and Ashley really competed well today," Head Coach Jason Drake said. "All three should put themselves on or move up our Top 25 5K list. It was a really good day for that group."
Nayla Martin made a significant move up the Bulldog lineup after the UC Riverside Invitational, finishing fourth for Fresno State and 34th overall in 18:27.5. Hannah Pacheco rounded out the Bulldogs' scoring five, placing 43rd with a time of 18:33.2.
Hannah Garrity followed in 51st with a time of 18:41.1, while Kylie Ward crossed the line in 19:16.3.
Fresno State's performance was even more encouraging with Khushleen Khakh unavailable due to illness. The Bulldogs also finished ahead of Nevada for the first time in program history and showed significant improvement against Saint Mary's after the Gaels finished ahead of Fresno State at the season-opening Gaucho Twilight.
"Nayla moved up really nicely from our last race, and we were missing Khushleen today due to illness," Drake said. "Getting her back in the mix will give us even more depth. We've never beaten Nevada before, and we were much better against Saint Mary's than we were at Santa Barbara, so there were a lot of positives for the women today."
On the men's side, Ivan Barranco led a tightly packed Fresno State group in the 8K. Barranco turned in a personal-best 25:16.4 to finish 48th overall. Noah Graffigna followed just 3.6 seconds later, placing 52nd in 25:20.0.
Enrique Loredo delivered one of the Bulldogs' strongest performances of the day, recording a personal-best 25:21.6 to finish 54th. Jaden Tungate was Fresno State's fourth finisher, clocking a season-best 25:29.3 to place 62nd.
Freshman Matthew Wong rounded out Fresno State's scoring five in 86th with a time of 25:56.4. The Bulldogs' first four runners were separated by just 12.9 seconds.
"Ivan and Enrique had great races today, and it was really good to see Enrique get back to form," Drake said. "Jaden and Noah were solid again as well. Overall, this was a much better day for the men than two weeks ago when most of the group was dealing with illness."
The trip to Oregon also provided the Bulldogs with a different test midway through the regular season, competing against a new group of teams on a more challenging course.
"It was nice to see something new and race on a more challenging course than we're used to," Drake said.
UP NEXT
Fresno State returns to action on Oct. 17 at the Bronco Invitational, hosted by Santa Clara.
The Bulldog women were led by a trio of top-11 finishes in the 5K. Chiara Pedol paced Fresno State for the second consecutive meet, placing seventh overall with a time of 17:36.7.
Rhiannon Walker and Ashley Villafana Rodriguez crossed the line within four seconds of each other, placing 10th and 11th, respectively. Walker clocked a personal-best 17:50.3, while Villafana Rodriguez also recorded a personal best at 17:54.2.
"Chiara, Rhi and Ashley really competed well today," Head Coach Jason Drake said. "All three should put themselves on or move up our Top 25 5K list. It was a really good day for that group."
Nayla Martin made a significant move up the Bulldog lineup after the UC Riverside Invitational, finishing fourth for Fresno State and 34th overall in 18:27.5. Hannah Pacheco rounded out the Bulldogs' scoring five, placing 43rd with a time of 18:33.2.
Hannah Garrity followed in 51st with a time of 18:41.1, while Kylie Ward crossed the line in 19:16.3.
Fresno State's performance was even more encouraging with Khushleen Khakh unavailable due to illness. The Bulldogs also finished ahead of Nevada for the first time in program history and showed significant improvement against Saint Mary's after the Gaels finished ahead of Fresno State at the season-opening Gaucho Twilight.
"Nayla moved up really nicely from our last race, and we were missing Khushleen today due to illness," Drake said. "Getting her back in the mix will give us even more depth. We've never beaten Nevada before, and we were much better against Saint Mary's than we were at Santa Barbara, so there were a lot of positives for the women today."
On the men's side, Ivan Barranco led a tightly packed Fresno State group in the 8K. Barranco turned in a personal-best 25:16.4 to finish 48th overall. Noah Graffigna followed just 3.6 seconds later, placing 52nd in 25:20.0.
Enrique Loredo delivered one of the Bulldogs' strongest performances of the day, recording a personal-best 25:21.6 to finish 54th. Jaden Tungate was Fresno State's fourth finisher, clocking a season-best 25:29.3 to place 62nd.
Freshman Matthew Wong rounded out Fresno State's scoring five in 86th with a time of 25:56.4. The Bulldogs' first four runners were separated by just 12.9 seconds.
"Ivan and Enrique had great races today, and it was really good to see Enrique get back to form," Drake said. "Jaden and Noah were solid again as well. Overall, this was a much better day for the men than two weeks ago when most of the group was dealing with illness."
The trip to Oregon also provided the Bulldogs with a different test midway through the regular season, competing against a new group of teams on a more challenging course.
"It was nice to see something new and race on a more challenging course than we're used to," Drake said.
UP NEXT
Fresno State returns to action on Oct. 17 at the Bronco Invitational, hosted by Santa Clara.
Players Mentioned
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