Mesa Cross Country competes well at Highlander Invite over the weekend

Sunday October 20, 2024 - 10:00 a.m. | Dylan DeVlieger

Mesa Cross Country took to the course on Saturday at the Highlander Invite in Riverside, CA in a field full of NCAA programs.

Men's Cross Country:

The T-Bird men held their own finishing in 16th place as they were led by freshman Nick Valle who came in 72nd place with a time of 15:42.4. Cal Schnepf took 106th clocking in at 26:07.1, Quenton Metz took 151st finishing in 26:51.6, Kai Robinson finished in 162nd place with a time of 27:03.7, and Benett Kaup came in 193rd place finishing in 27:42.8.

Head coach Daniel Pescador is pleased with his men's team in their performance as they loom closer to the Regional and National meets.

"Cal, Quenton, Javier and Zion ran very great races and big PRs! As a group we had a decent team average with 4 of our top 5 runners missing today. We let some opportunities get away for some, but we're looking forward to the championship portion of the season," said Pescador.

Women's Cross Country:

The Lady T-Birds also took home 16th place in their event as they raced in a 6k as opposed to their normal 5k. 

The T-Birds were led by freshman Kinley Jackson who clocked a time of 22:38.0 and finished 71st, Regina Raimo came in at 23:02.0 and took 94th, Katie Munoz finished in 109th with a time of 23:12.0, Marissa Hernandez came in at 23:16.9 as she finished in 118th place, and Carmella Baldwin finished 166th with a time of 24:08.7. 

Even while missing a couple of athletes Pescador is proud of his women's team for their adjustment to a different distance while in a highly competitive field.

"The women ran great! It was their first 6k of the year, and for our freshman their first 6k ever. They ran outstanding and had a very good tight pack, without Lucy and Destiny. Kinley ran great, and ran big time for the 6k distance," said Pescador.

Mesa will now turn their attention to the NJCAA Region I Championships on Oct. 25 at Crossroads Park in Gilbert, AZ.