COTTONWOOD, Calif. - The Simpson University Cross Country team dominated the Cal Pac Championships today on its home site at West Valley High School.
The men's team earned its first Cal Pac Championship in program history, while the women's squad claimed its first Cal Pac Championship since 2012.
The Red Hawks men's team set the tone early in the men's 8k as freshman
Justin Montoya earned an individual first-place finish with a blistering 27:40.34, as fellow Red Hawks
Cade Salsedo followed close behind with a second-place finish with a time of 27:44.16.
But the Red Hawks kept coming as they earned the first five finishes with seven runners placing in the top eight.
Dual-sport athlete Colton Silva sealed a third-place finish with a time of 30:18.39,
Alexander Reusze claimed the fourth spot with a time of 30:40.19, and Benny Peralta rounded out the top five finishers with a time of 31:31.07.
The sixth spot belonged to a Pacific Union runner before Simpson's
Matthew Viramontez earned the seventh spot with a time of 32:10.63, and
Mark Rachal rounded out the Simpson runners, stamping a time of 32:50.43.
The outstanding performance by the men's group earned them a Cal Pac Championship title with a team score of 15.
On the women's side, the Red Hawks continued to flourish as
Jewelia Zaragoza led the squad with a third-place finish with a time of 28:58.33.
She sparked a trend of three straight Simpson runners finishing behind her as
Grace Balke placed fourth with a time of 32:40.21,
Nieva Parsons placed fifth with a time of 32:42.15, and Kezia Parsons placed sixth with a time of 32:46.63.
Simpson's, Alexis Heredia claimed the eighth spot with a 33:26.54 while
Sabrina Stewart rounded out the group with a time of 41:43.17.
A solid performance by the women's team earned them a Cal Pac Championship title with a team score of 15.
The Red Hawks took home the hardware as Coach Jonathan Hall earned coach of the year honors for the men's and women's teams for the first time in his career.
Montoya earned the Male Runner of the Year award along with an All-Conference selection.
Silva, Reusze, Peralta, and Viramontez all earned an All-Conference selection on the men's side, while Zaragoza, Pierce, Parsons, and Balke earned All-Conference selections on the women's side.
Rachal and Pierce earned the Cal Pac Champions of Character award for their professional display on the field.
Simpson looks to prepare for the NAIA National Tournament that is set to take place on Nov. 21st in Tallahassee, FL.
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