The University of Redlands men's and women's cross country teams put together an excellent performance at the Coyote Challenge meet, hosted by Cal State San Bernardino, on Saturday morning. Amongst many strong finishes, junior Maria Ramirez (Orange, CA) pushed herself to her limits with a school record in the 5k event, while senior Tucker Cargile (Denver, CO) turned in a first-place result in the 8k. Overall, the women finished in 10th out of 20 schools, as the men took fifth out of 11 teams.
During the women's competition, Ramirez ran among the lead pack for the majority of the race, waiting to make her move. She pushed hard in the final lap to pass several competitors and cross the line in a career-best time of 17:48.7 for third place overall. She was the fastest runner amongst all colleges and only trailed two unattached competitors. She betters the previous school standard that stood since 1983 by more than 10 seconds.
Senior Ellie Ramsey (Waterbury, VT) and first-year Isabella Glenn (Seattle, WA) paced each other well the entire way in 52nd and 54th place, respectively. Ramsey finished with a time of 19:10.8, while Glenn completed the 5k in 19:12.3. These marks also land among the top-20 list at Redlands.
First-year Alexis Wallace (Orangevale, CA) and sophomore Greta Jursch (Agoura Hills, CA) also ran well together with sub-20-minute times of 19:52.8 and 19:55.6, respectively.
On the men's side, Cargile was dominant from beginning to end on the 8k course. With an average mile of 5:04.0, Cargile toppled the competition with a career-best time of 25:11.2. Beyond winning the meet, he bettered his position among the Bulldogs' all-time top-10 list. As he turned the final corner, Cargile created a near-three-second separation between him and the next finisher.
Senior Joseph Esparza (Arcata, CA) also registered a strong race on the unfamiliar course. Esparza came down the final stretch in the mix with four other runners that finished within five seconds of each other. Esparza orchestrated a 21st-place time of 25:58.0, which moves him up the Bulldogs' top-20 list for the 8k to 14th all-time.
In addition, the Bulldogs fared well in the middle of the pack, beginning with senior Benjamin Casey (Highland Park, IL) in 44th place with a time of 27:07.2. Sophomore Matthew Casey (Highland Park, IL) wasn't too far behind in 49th by crossing the line in 27:16.3. Sophomore Trevor Brouelette (Rancho Santa Margarita, CA) and senior Drew Kargol (Aiea, HI) remained on each other's hips throughout the race with times of 27:27.5 and 27:28.0 in 55th and 56th, respectively.
Redlands looks forward to competing at the Pomona-Pitzer Invitational on Saturday, October 6, at 7:30 a.m. in Claremont.
