The West NCAA Regional Cross-Country Championships were hosted by Western Oregon on November 6th where the Coyotes were able to compete for the first time in nearly three years. The regional meet is one of eight regional meets across the country and hosted 24 teams from three conferences with 170 athletes at the start line for the women's 6k race.
"It was truly a cross country course; mud, grass, rain, wind, all combined into one" said Nicole Renteria.
"Our team ran well under the conditions of the course as well as the weather. I'm just proud of them for making it as far as they did this season" said coach McDonald.
Miranda Avila led the way for the Yotes crossing the line in a time of 23:28.1. This placed her 91st out of 170 runners. This marks the 5th time she has finished in first position for her team. Sujey Esteva came across the line in a time of 23:59.7 in second position for her team and 107th in the region, this marks her highest finish amongst her team this season.
"I feel like I tried my best, I didn't try to get comfortable at all I kept reminding myself that 'this is it, this is my last race, I got to do something' and run and catch some girls" said Esteva.
Renteria and Joanna Lopez finished closely together with times of 24:25.8 (121st) and 24:30.2 (125th) respectively. Genesis Obispo crossed the line with a time of 25:07.6 (136th) to secure the teams 5th scoring spot. Savannah Milner and Abigail Toarmina finished in times of 25:44.1 (151st) and 26:07.0 (158th) respectively.
"I think I did really good considering the conditions, how cold it was and how rainy it was. I'm proud of myself and how I ran. This has been by far my favorite season of my career, so I'm really happy to have ended on a positive note," said Abagail Toarmina.
"You know it's been amazing to watch this season unfold. Coming from such a long hiatus in the sport, we have to be so proud to see where these women have come in these short four months. They're are a completely different team from where we started, you can see it in their dedication, in their work ethic at every race. We're only going up. With the returners we have a strong foundation and anyone we bring in is just going to make us that much better" said coach Reimer-Podgaysky
"I believe next season the girls are going to be much more confident from the start and its going to carry them to a much better finish at the end of the season, can't wait" said coach McDonald.
CSUSB Women's 6k Individual Results
1. Miranda Avila SO Cal St. San Bernardino 23:28.1
2. Sujey Esteva JR Cal St. San Bernardino 23:59.7
3. Nicole Renteria FR Cal St. San Bernardino 24:25.8
4. Joanna Lopez FR Cal St. San Bernardino 24:30.2
5. Genesis Obispo SO Cal St. San Bernardino 25:07.6
6. Savannah Milner SO Cal St. San Bernardino 25:44.1
7. Abigail Toarmina JR Cal St. San Bernardino 26:07.0
