VANCOUVER, Wash. – Jonathan Chavez earned NAIA All-American honors and four Bobcats ran at the NAIA National Championships on Friday morning at the Fort Vancouver National Historic Championship Course.
Chavez finished 39th overall to become the second All-American in UC Merced men's cross country history. The Hilmar, Calif., native crossed the finish line in 25:40.9, his personal best time in his four national championship races. Chavez worked his way into the top 40 as the race went on and was within the top 60 for the entire race. He used a strong push over the final 2k to put himself in the position for All-American honors. Chavez joins Anthony Tyler (2X, 2017-18) as UC Merced's All-Americans.
Sharvin Manjrekar, Elizette Ysais, and Jaydah Aguilar also took the starting line for the Bobcats at the national meet.
Manjrekar crossed the finish line 98th overall with a time of 26:14 to join an exclusive group of Bobcats to crack the top 100 on the sports biggest stage. The sophomore passed 50 runners over the final 2k, including 21 runners in the final kilometer to get in the top 100. His time of 26:14 is good for fifth on the program's NAIA National Championship Top 10 list.
Ysais logged a time of 23:49 in 6k race to place 122nd overall. The senior picked up spots as the race went on. While this was her fourth national meet in her career, it was the first time the NAIA National Championships moved to the 6k distance on the women's side. It was a 5k championship race in years prior.
Aguilar crossed the finish line 285th overall clocking a time of 25:47.7 in her first national race.
The Bobcats will now turn the page to outdoor track. Follow UCMercedXCTrack on Twitter and Instagram, and stay tuned to ucmercedbobcats.com to stay up to date with the team.
