FRESNO, Calif. – The University of California, Merced men's and women's cross country teams opened the 2023 season at the Fresno Invitational on Friday morning. Elizette Ysais turned in a big performance with a third-place finish, while Sharvin Manjrekar crossed the finish line 10th at Woodward Park.
Ysais clocked a 5K time of 19:31 to earn her seventh career top five finish and second in her last two races at Woodward Park dating back to last season.
Jaydah Aguilar crossed the finish line 27th (21:59) for the women's team, followed by Kayley Betancourt in 22:02 and Anjaneesa Ward in 22:05. The two placed 30th and 31st, respectively. Emily Gonzales completed the Bobcats scoring in 46th place with a time of 23:00.
"Our season opener at the familiar Woodward Park was a great way to shake off the nerves and get a feel for racing again after a productive summer," head coach Vicente Velarde said. "Ysais is off to a good start leading the women and placing 3rd overall. We weren't at full strength for this first race for the women, but our focus is on our races in October so we're feeling confident. I could see us working on packing up for the earlier part of the next two races as we had Aguilar, Betancourt and Ward finish six seconds apart from each other."
Following a great freshman season, Manjrekar led the men's team in the season opener on Friday in the four-mile run with a time of 21:16. Friday morning marked his third career top ten finish.
Alberto Alves ran the race in 21:36 to claim 18th place. Rounding out the Bobcats scorers were Derrick Pickrel (35th/22:11), Noah Vasquez (44th/22:27), and newcomer Joshua Riley (53rd/22:35).
"Our men's lineup has changed a lot since last season as Pickrel, Omar Carr-Wallace, Riley and Cole Rommelfanger start out as early contributors who were not part of our scorers at last year's Cal Pac Championship," Velarde said. "We have a solid base that should see us running well this entire season. Manjrekar placing 10th overall improved the most on this course from last season, 22:43 to an impressive 21:16. Alves and Vasquez kept our team together due in part to their veteran leadership. They helped close some gaps we had after having a conservative start to their races. We should see our men's team at full strength next weekend at Kim Duyst as we place Jonathan Chavez back in the lineup."
The women's team finished fourth out of ten teams, while the men's team took fifth out of 15 teams.
Sinthya Duran and Fernando Oliveros, both UC Merced track runners last year, ran their first collegiate cross country race on Friday. Freshmen Cole Rommelfanger and Elijah Lawrence made their collegiate debut. Omar Carr-Wallace also raced for the Bobcats.
"We still have a lot to work on for a long season and I like where we have started," Velarde said. "I would like to personally thank the supporters that came out to the race, as from my experience, this had to be the most we've had for a season opening meet."
Up next, the Kim Duyst Twilight Meet at River Oaks Golf Course in Ceres, Calif., on Saturday, September 9.
