TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - The men's and women's cross country teams competed at the NAIA National Tournament today in Tallahassee, FL.
The women's cross country team kicked off the tournament by running the 6k race to begin the day.
Jewelia Zaragoza highlighted the women's squad with a time of 29:36.8 to conclude the season.
Nieva Parsons followed close behind with a 30:04.7 as Alexis Heredia came in six spots behind with a time of 31:59.4.
Two Red Hawks finished back-to-back as
Grace Balke and
Kezia Pierce concluded the race with respective times of 32:14.5 and 32:24.7.
Sabrina Stewart rounded out the Simpson women's squad with a 41:19.7.
The women's team earned a 36th-place finish with a total time of 2:36:20.10 in one of the strongest seasons in program history.
The men's squad followed with a 9:30 am start time, as
Cade Salsedo followed up his second consecutive NAIA national appearance with a strong finish, as he led the men's team with a 27:43.4.
Cal Pac Male Runner of the Year,
Justin Montoya, followed Salsedo's performance with a 28:07.0 time to end the season.
Back-to-back Red Hawk runners crossed the finish line as Colton Silva earned a 30:06.1 while
Matthew Viramontez crossed a few seconds later with a time of 30:10.9.
Alexander Reusze stamped a 31:56.7 while
Mark Rachal earned a 32:31.3 and Benny Peralta rounded out the men's squad with a 32:47.2.
The men's squad capped off a stellar year as they earned a 36th-place finish to end the year.
The cross country team looks to head into the offseason as it builds off one of its best seasons in program history.
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