FRESNO, Calif. – For the first time in program history, the University of California, Merced cross country teams swept the California Pacific Conference team championships on Monday morning at Woodward Park.
The UC Merced women swept the top seven spots en route to a dominant 15-point performance and their first ever trophy, while the men turned in a stellar race to score 25 points for their first championship.
Elizette Ysais led the Bobcats winning her first career individual title with a time of 23:32.5. She won the title by 41 seconds and is the women's first Cal Pac Runner of the Year since Sofia Rios in 2014.
Leslie Aquino crossed the finish line next for UC Merced as she raced her way to an All-Cal Pac First Team and runner-up finish with a time 24:13.5. Jaydah Aguilar (25:20.2) placed third and Jailyn Batis (25:37.4) and Kasia Holland (26:07.1) finished fourth and fifth in the race, respectively, also earning All-Cal Pac First Team recognition. Batis and Holland notched a personal-record time.
Not scorers, but four more Bobcats turned in a personal best time. Mia Abonza (6th/26:17.3) and Layla Muhammed (7th/26:49.8) made the All-Cal Pac First Team, while Natalie Hernandez Martinez (11th/28:30.6) and Sinthya Duran (12th/28:54.1) finished in the top 12.
The Cal Pac has never had a team sweep the top seven spots until UC Merced in 2024.
Sharvin Manjrekar keyed the men's victory with a second-place finish in a time of 25:41.9. Overall, the Bobcats put three runners in the top four and five in the top eight.
Derrick Pickrel came in third place with a time of 25:57.1 and Joshua Riley (26:46.4) and Jorge Mandujano (27:12.1) placed fifth and seventh, respectively, to join Manjrekar on the All-Cal Pac First Team. Pickrel's time was the fifth fastest championship time in program history. Cole Rommelfanger (27:18.9) was fifth for the Bobcats while taking eighth overall to help secure the Bobcats championship.
Also finishing top ten but not scoring were Kevin Pedroza (9th/27:24.5) and Alberto Alves (10th/27:33.4.) Rommelfanger, Pedroza, and Alves were named All-Cal Pac Second Team members. Pedroza clocked a PR.
Next for the Bobcats were Sergio Vivar Jr. (12th/28:16.4), Alberto Guevara (13th/28:18.8), and Fabian Varelas (26th/31:11.32).
Head coach Vicente Velarde was named the California Pacific Conference Men's and Women's Cross Country Coach of the Year.
UC Merced is the first different Cal Pac Champion in the last decade. Embry-Riddle had swept the previous ten conference titles.
The Bobcats will have a few weeks off before they toe the starting line at the NAIA National Championships at Gans Creek Golf Course in Columbia, Mo., on November 22.
This will be the first trip to nationals for the women's team, while it is the first for the men's team since 2018. Every other year, the Bobcats have qualified individuals.
Additional Notes:
- Ysais closes her Cal Pac cross country career as an individual champion and a 5X All-Cal Pac First Team member
- Aguilar is now a 3X all-conference runner, earning second team honors in the two years prior before earning first team honors with her third place finish in 2024
- Manjrekar is the fourth 3X All-Cal Pac First Team runner (2022-24) in men's program history
- Alves and Rommelfanger earned All-Cal Pac Second Team honors for the second consecutive year
