LODI, Calif. – The University of California, Merced men's cross country team finished fourth and the women placed eighth at the Pacific Invitational held at Micke Grove Golf Course Friday evening.
Jonathan Chavez highlighted the Bobcats with a 12th place finish in the field of 87 clocking an 8k time of 25:38.1. It was his second top 15 finish in a six-day stretch.
The Bobcats next three scorers finished in the top half of the field and Joshua Riley was UC Merced's second scorer using a 26:34.7 time to come in 32nd. Sharvin Manjrekar (35th/26:45.9) and Derrick Pickrel (36th/26:48.2) weren't too far behind. Cole Rommelfanger crossed the finish line next for the Bobcats placing 46th with a time of 27:43.7.
Elizette Ysais led the women in the 6k with a time of 24:09.2 to place 47th out of 107 total runners.
Irene Martinez finished 51st in 24:20.9. Leslie Aquino (66th/25:04.7), Jaydah Aguilar (69th/25:15.1), and Jailyn Batis (85th/26:25.9) rounded out the women's scoring runners.
Friday's race was primarily filled with NCAA Division I teams. Saint Mary's College swept the men's and women's race.
Up next, UC Merced will run at The Master's XC Invitational on Saturday, October 5 at Central Park in Santa Clarita, Calif.
