SACRAMENTO, Calif. - - The Wilmington University cross country teams got to preview the course that the NCAA Division II National Championship will be run on, competing in the Capital Cross Challenge hosted by the Sacramento Running Association at the Arcade Creek Golf Course.
The men finished 32nd overall while the women placed 40th in their respective College Invitational Races.
The men were up first on the West Coast, running in the 8K College Invitational. Brandon Cruz led the Wildcats with a 161st place finish, running the course in 25:54.9. Garret Checchi placed 196th overall with a time of 26:19.6. Michael Dowd placed 230th overall with a time of 26:40.0 while Will Rehrig came in 237th overall with a time of 26:46.0. Shannon Dooley rounded out the Wildcat scoring with a 244th place finish, crossing the line in 26:57.5.
The Wildcats earned 930 points to finish 32nd out of 35 teams. Cal Poly won the event with 51 points, followed by Chico State's 67 points. UC San Diego rounded out the top three with 176 points. Cal Poly's Jake Ritter earned medalist honors with a time of 24:04.1.
On the women's side, freshman Annabel Cortez led the Wildcats with a 278th place finish, running the 6K course in 24:10.9. Julia Merritt was the second finisher for the Wildcats with a 305th place finish and a time of 25:05.5 while Rosemary Gillam finished 308th overall with a time of 25:28.2. Grace Slate finished 311th overall with a time of 25:39.8 while Allyson Kelly rounded out the Wildcats' scoring with a 312th place finish and a time of 25:44.5.
The Wildcats earned 1,282 points to finish 40th out of 40. Colorado Mesa won the event with 89 points while California finished second overall with 103 point. Cal Poly finished third overall with 139 points. Seattle Pacific's Kaylee Mitchell earned medalist honors by winning the event with a time of 20:30.2.
The Wildcats return to the East Coast next week, as they head to Salisbury, Maryland to take part in the Don Cathcart Invitational hosted in Winter Place Park.