Lead bike, lead bike, lead, lead, lead 'em in! The Stan State Invite was a smashing success this year in all aspects. Men dominated, women won, logistics were great, and crowd support was incredible. At the biggest home meet in recent history, (7 men's teams and 9 women's teams), the Warriors ran some impressive times Saturday in Turlock.
The men's team scored 32 points for the victory, finishing 2-3-11-12-13 overall with lots of unattached runners mixed in that group. Warrior Alum Jose Morales won the race in a time of 25:43, just out-kicking Joey "Man-o-War" Nunes by 6 seconds. They were followed by Dawson "Stache-Dash" Vorderbruegge, who crossed in 26:18. Both Joey and Dawson had pr's of more than 30 seconds, despite training through the race and having virtually no one to pace with. Ivan Bojorquez, Shane Brookshire, and Kanwar Dhaliwal were next for the Warriors, finishing in 27:34, :37, and :42, a close pack indeed. Kanwar and Ivan had great breakout races, moving up in the squad and posting strong times.
Women-wise, Denali Foldager continued to lead the team, placing 2nd overall in a behemoth pr of 23:22. She ran much more conservatively and used her finishing speed to her advantage in a well timed attack. Andrea Johnson really stepped it up this week and finished 4th overall, bumping up a spot in the lineup, just ahead of Rubye Foldager, who also had a great race. Mary Courtright and Chelsea Deerinck came in together and looked strong the whole race. They were followed by Lindsay Garcia and Al-Face Thiele. Liz LaMadrid finished her first collegiate race; she's been battling injuries all season, so it was nice to see her out there competing. The women had strong pack running, just several separate packs instead of one united pack. If they can join up and run together as a unit, they could really surprise some people come the end of the season.
As well, unattached runners Marina Ghabbour and Stephen Lenz raced well in their second race of the season.
Many thanks to all the spectators who came out and supported us at this meet. It was great to see people dressed up, fired up, and pumped up to watch a local XC meet. It's a fantastic representation of school spirit, and it really encourages all the racers to have a loud fan base.
Finally, thanks to all the teams who came and competed, especially to the Warrior Alumni, who helped pace and push the men.
The Warriors will have two solid weeks of training before they compete again at the San Francisco State Gator Invite. The 8k race in Golden Gate Park is a preview of the West Regional race scheduled for November 7th. There will be plenty of competition at the Gator Preview, including schools from all up and down the West Coast. We'll see ya in SF!
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