SANTA CLARITA, Calif. – University of California, Merced cross country continued its season at the TMU XC Invitational at Central Park on Saturday morning.
Draven Grondona led the way for the Bobcats, placing 43rd in the men's field of 220 runners with a personal-best time of 26:09.5. Grondona's time is the eighth fastest TMU XC Invitational time in program history.
Jorge Mandujano crossed the finish line in a PR time of 26:38.6, placing 67th overall. Kevin Pedroza also ran a personal-best on Saturday and his time of 27:05.2 was good for 87th in the field. Sergio Vivar Jr. (105th/27:32.5) and Steven Gonzalez (113th/27:41.8) rounded out the Bobcats scorers. Gonzalez's race marked his collegiate debut.
UC Merced's men finished 10th out of 20 as a team.
Irene Martinez led the women's team with a 53rd place finish in the field of 209, crossing the finish line in 23:48.6. Her time was the second fastest 6k time at the TMU XC Invitational in program history.
Brigette Trujillo clocked a time of 24:20, good for 72nd overall and the fourth fastest meet time in program history. Kasia Holland cracked the top 100, placing 99th in 24:53.8. Mariah Dhillon (137th/26:10.6) and Mia Abonza (172nd/27:56.5) were the Bobcats fourth and fifth scorers. Sofia Najarro (175th/28:01.5) followed in her collegiate debut.
UC Merced's women finished 14th out of 20 as a team.
Looking ahead, the Bobcats return to action on Friday, October 10 for the SF State Invitational at Speedway Meadow at Golden Gate Park in San Francisco.
