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Leopard Men Take Sixth At SCIAC Cross Country Championships
The University of La Verne men's cross country team competed at the SCIAC championships and finished sixth overall Saturday at Prado Park in Chino.
Claremont Mudd-Scripps took home first place with a total score of 33 followed by Pomona-Pitzer (39) in second place. Occidental (119) was third with Redlands taking fourth (125).
Oxy's Eric Kleinsasser was the top individual finisher, completing the course in 25:24.47. CMS and Pomona-Pitzer each had four runners each place in the Top 10.
La Verne was narrowly edged out by fifth-place Cal Lutheran (138) in the team standings but placed ahead of Caltech (179) and Whittier (192).
"We wanted to place higher but we had some positive signs that we're moving in the right direction," said La Verne head coach Mike Atwood. "We had 75% of our men earn personal bests at the meet."
Leo Martinez had the best finish for the Leopards in placing 31st with a personal best time of 27:35.10. Freshmen Sean Kusick and Matthew Sustayta were close behind Martinez finishing 36th in 27:50.19 and 38th in 27:59.98, respectively. According to Atwood, Kusick and Sustayta had the best performances for freshmen at Prado Park in school history.
Jasper Chang placed 41st (28:07.14), Alex Forbess placing 43rd (28:12.64) and Oscar Castro placing 44th (28:14.33). The team raced nine men overall, all of whom placed within the top 65.
The meet marked the first time La Verne men's team has ever had each of its runners finish under 30 minutes. Additionally the Leos had their fastest average time of the year (27:57) and their fastest total team time (2:19:45) of the year.
The men will next compete on Nov. 14 for the NCAA Division III West Regional hosted by Pomona-Pitzer.
