SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. - The CSUSB Yotes traveled to Monterey Bay on September 17^th to compete at the CCAA Cross Country Preview. This meet was used as the official preview of the upcoming championship course for the CCAA Conference Championships and was the first collegiate cross-country meet held at the beautiful Palo Corona Regional Park. Six teams in total and three CCAA teams competed at the event on the cool and cloudy day.  


Continuing her record setting ways, Alexis Wallace won the women's 6k race and set her second course record this season clocking in a time of 22:10.7, a personal best time by 29 seconds over her old time at that distance. She set the Coyote Challenge 5k course record the previous week in a time of 18:24.2. 
 

"I ran better than expected. I was completely surprised by how well I ran; I did not know that I PR'd. I know I can go faster so I am looking forward to next weekend." – Alexis Wallace  

Joanna Lopez ran a gutsy race working up two positions over the course of the race and clocking in a time of 23:23.7. This is her second fastest time at this distance. Kai Marroquin in her first ever collegiate 6k race came through in a time of 24:33.1, moving up three spots from the start of the race from 14^th to 11^th.  
 

"I thought it was going to be terrible, but it did not feel that bad. I started off not as fast as I usually do because I did not want to die out, so I was slowly trying to pick it up and start getting the people in front of me." – Kai Marroquin 

Rounding out the top five for the Coyotes was Nicole Renteria and Miranda Avila, finishing in times of 24:42.7 and 24:47.4 respectively. CSUSB finished second overall in the team standings with 41 points behind CSU Monterey Bay's 23. San Francisco State finished in third with 67. 
 

"I think everyone did their part, they knew what they needed to do and didn't worry about the time and just raced." – Miranda Avila 

The Yotes finished with four personal bests on the day and competed well gaining a total of 21 positions up on the competition throughout the race. 
 

"The team competed well; we have things we are going to work on. Overall, we ran to what we were expected to run. Our front runners did excellent, with Wallace coming in with a PR in the race, we just need to strengthen our middle pack. Each week we are getting stronger and faster, and we are just looking to peak at the championships and keep chipping away to get to our goals." – Assistant Coach Nicole McDonald. 

"Thought the course was good, I am excited to run it again. It was not too hilly and definitely feels like a faster course and with some competition I think I'll be able to run faster." – Alexis Wallace  

For the first time in the Yotes' program, Alexis Wallace has been named CCAA Runner of the Week for the second consecutive week. 

From the CCAA: "Wallace followed her stellar CCAA debut last week with another victory on Saturday at the Otter Invitational, which was also dubbed as the CCAA championship preview. Wallace, a graduate student from Orangevale, clocked in at a personal best time of 22:10.7 in the 6K race . . . Wallace led CSUSB to a second place team finish behind host Cal State Monterey Bay . . . Wallace finished ahead of second place Lisa Irvine of CSUMB by 50 seconds . . . Last week, Wallace made her CSUSB debut at the Coyote Challenge, where she won the 5K competition in 18:24.2. She was named the CCAA Women's Cross Country Runner of the Week for that performance last week."



 

The CSUSB Coyotes will make their way back to the Bay for the CCAA Championships on November 5th.  

"(The Championship course) is a trail course, and we run on the trails in our training. We train on harder hills than what is on the course, so we feel very prepared for the championships. Overall, it is a great course and next time we're on the course is going to be an exciting one." – Coach McDonald. 

The CSUSB Women will compete this Saturday, September 24^th, at the Cougar Challenge on the campus of Cal State San Marcos. Come out and support your Yotes!