FRESNO, Calif. - Jonathan Chavez of the University of California, Merced men's cross country team cemented his name in the record books by winning the individual title at the California Pacific Conference Cross Country Championships on Friday morning at Woodward Park. Chavez ran a personal best time of 25:25 while becoming the second men's Cal Pac Individual Champion in program history.
As a team, UC Merced men's and women's cross country finished runner-up and both placed two runners in the top five. The men's team has finished runner-up three straight years and seven of the last eight, while the UC Merced women's team earns the runner-up finish for the fifth consecutive year. The women's team's score of 43 points marked their best in Cal Pac Championship history.
Elizette Ysais led the women's squad, finishing fourth overall and shattered the Bobcats Cal Pac championship meet record with a time of 18:51. Her fourth place finish also marked the highest finish by a UC Merced women's runner in the conference title meet since 2015. Ysais garnered her third straight All-Cal Pac First Team honor with the stellar result.
Alexandra Lopez finished fifth overall, crossing the finish line with the program's second fastest championship time in 18:58 to also earn first team recognition.
Three more Bobcats finished within the top 15 individually to continue to close the gap year-to-year with the eight-time defending champ Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. Carissa Estrada grabbed eleventh (19:47), Anjaneesa Ward finished 12th (19:52), and Jaydah Aguilar took 15th (20:40). Ward's time was a personal best. All three Bobcats claimed All-Cal Pac Second Team honors.
Ysais, Lopez, Estrada and Ward all qualified for the NAIA National Championships giving the Bobcats the four individual qualifier spots for the second time in program history.
Chavez won the men's race in 25:25 to follow up his first-place finish at the Warrior Invitational less than two weeks ago.
Noah Vasquez clocked the seventh fastest championship time in program history to finish fifth overall (26:31) and earn All-Cal Pac First Team honors. Sharvin Manjrekar was next for the Bobcats to earn first team honors, clocking a time of 26:41 for seventh place. Chavez, Vasquez and Manjrekar gave the Bobcats three runners in the top seven for the first time in program history. The trio also qualified for the NAIA National Championships.
Corbin Farias and Alberto Alves recorded top 20 finishes to score for the Bobcats, finishing 17th (27:43) and 19th (27:49), respectively.
Top 25 finishers from the men's and the women's teams include Emily Gonzales (19th/21:23), Brieanna Anderson (20th/21:23), Kayley Betancourt (21st/21:25), Nick Montijo (21st/28:05), and Brandon Guerrero (25th/28:52). Betancourt crossed the finish line in a personal best time.
Up next, head coach Vicente Velarde will lead his seven NAIA National Championship Individual Qualifiers to Apalachee Regional Park in Tallahassee, Fla. for the final race of the 2022 campaign on Friday, November 18.
Velarde's Cal Pac Championship Race Quotes
"Our women's team ran the best race we've ever run on this course We really tried to focus on the easier sections of the course and surging hard after each hill. Alex got out hard and pushed the pace from the start which made the race faster overall. Eli ran a bit more conservative but by the time she finished she ended up being the one to break our women's Cal Pac 5km record for the Woodward park course and 1st to break 19 minutes on the course. Alex came in right after her also breaking the 19-minute barrier. It was such a gutsy race that she ran but I wouldn't want her to run any other way. Carissa was our next finisher, and I could tell from the mile mark that she was going to have one of the best races of her life. She committed to pushing every downhill and kept surging on command and it paid off as she earned her individual bid to nationals. I was especially happy for Carissa to earn her individual bid after barely missing it last season, and with this being her senior year, it makes it that much sweeter. Anj was our fourth finisher, and she earned her first but the last Cal Pac Conference individual bid to nationals. She had been dealing with a foot issue this week, so we were pleased to see her perform as well as she did and still be able to hit a huge personal record. It ended up being one of the best days we've had on any course in our school history and Woodward park is not an easy course to run. Typically, it runs about 30 seconds slower than flatter courses so to average 19:38 today shows how much progress we've made over the last couple of seasons.
"For the men, we have been putting in some of the best workouts the past four weeks and I had a good feeling about the race. Jonathan ran his race perfectly from start to finish. I wanted him to be patient until about the 3km mark and then make a strong move that would separate him from the field. He did that right on cue and ran a solo race the rest of the race to come away with the win. For him to win Cal Pac after a rough late-summer injury that had him in a walking boot and pool for six weeks, shows that he is beyond talented. His hard work, determination, focus, heart, and team were able to get him through the last 7 weeks of training. Noah was my man of the meet today. He makes this team better with his leadership and his hard work throughout summer and this season paid off. I asked him his goals over summer and he said it was to be a top 5 scorer on our team this entire season. When he finished 5th at conference I was not surprised at all. Sharvin was our 3rd finisher and he took the final conference individual qualifying spot for nationals. I'm proud of his performance today and I know he has a lot more in him. I think the whole Cal Pac Conference better keep an eye on him during track season and the next few years."
