Saturday, October 15
Panorama Farms (Earlysville, VA)
7:00 A.M. PST
at
XC23 Invitational
Photo by: Ian Baker
Cal Poly Men Place Sixth at XC23 Invitational, Ritter Shines
10/15/2022 9:00:00 AM | Cross Country
EARLYSVILLE, Va. — Led by an impressive 10th-place finish by Jake Ritter (pictured above in the center), the Cal Poly men's cross country team captured sixth at the XC23 Invitational hosted by Virginia on Saturday morning.
The Mustangs brought their top nine runners to Panorama Farms, the site of the 2023 NCAA Cross Country Championships, to compete in the men's 8K race and finished behind four teams ranked in the USTFCCCA National Coaches' Poll (No. 7 Wake Forest, No. 18 Texas, No. 19 Virginia and No. 30 Charlotte) and ahead of Ole Miss, who received three more votes than Cal Poly in the latest national poll.
Cal Poly crossed the line with 152 team points, 25 in front of the seventh-place Rebels and 16 behind fifth-place Eastern Kentucky.
Ritter ran the 8K course in 23:24.9, the 10th-fastest time in the history of the course, to take home 10th. Ritter, a two-time Big West individual champion, is rounding into form with the conference meet just two weeks away.
Sophomore Aidan McCarthy placed 25th (23:53.6) while redshirt junior John Bennett stepped up and ran a personal-best 8K time of 23:55.4 to capture 30th. Redshirt sophomore Spencer Thurman earned 45th (24:09.3), redshirt sophomore Anthony Guerra 53rd (24:19.2) and sophomore Godebo Chapman 79th (24:43.7).
Bennett, Thurman and the rest of the Mustangs rose to the occasion, with Xian Shively and Colton Swinth out of the lineup and Will Fallini-Haas falling with 1K to go in the race, to power Cal Poly to another strong performance.
"We had some real bright spots today," Director of Track & Field and Cross Country Ryan Vanhoy said. "Jake Ritter put together a great race at the front and a lot of guys had their best race of the season, particularly John Bennett and Spencer Thurman. Those two guys stepped up big time in a moment of need."
Redshirt sophomore Erik Luu also finished 101st (25:08.6) and sophomore Rory Smail 140th (25:41.1).
"If we are able to put our best seven runners together on the same day, this team has the potential to do something very special this season," Vanhoy said.
The Cal Poly men, who received votes in the USTFCCCA National Coaches' Poll on Oct. 4 for the first time since 2013, head to UC Riverside's Ag/Ops Course on Saturday, Oct. 29, for the Big West Championships.
"We look forward to Xian coming back into the lineup for the Big West Championships and beyond, and getting Will back at 100 percent," Vanhoy said. "There's a lot left to look forward to this season."
The Mustangs brought their top nine runners to Panorama Farms, the site of the 2023 NCAA Cross Country Championships, to compete in the men's 8K race and finished behind four teams ranked in the USTFCCCA National Coaches' Poll (No. 7 Wake Forest, No. 18 Texas, No. 19 Virginia and No. 30 Charlotte) and ahead of Ole Miss, who received three more votes than Cal Poly in the latest national poll.
Cal Poly crossed the line with 152 team points, 25 in front of the seventh-place Rebels and 16 behind fifth-place Eastern Kentucky.
Ritter ran the 8K course in 23:24.9, the 10th-fastest time in the history of the course, to take home 10th. Ritter, a two-time Big West individual champion, is rounding into form with the conference meet just two weeks away.
Sophomore Aidan McCarthy placed 25th (23:53.6) while redshirt junior John Bennett stepped up and ran a personal-best 8K time of 23:55.4 to capture 30th. Redshirt sophomore Spencer Thurman earned 45th (24:09.3), redshirt sophomore Anthony Guerra 53rd (24:19.2) and sophomore Godebo Chapman 79th (24:43.7).
Bennett, Thurman and the rest of the Mustangs rose to the occasion, with Xian Shively and Colton Swinth out of the lineup and Will Fallini-Haas falling with 1K to go in the race, to power Cal Poly to another strong performance.
"We had some real bright spots today," Director of Track & Field and Cross Country Ryan Vanhoy said. "Jake Ritter put together a great race at the front and a lot of guys had their best race of the season, particularly John Bennett and Spencer Thurman. Those two guys stepped up big time in a moment of need."
Redshirt sophomore Erik Luu also finished 101st (25:08.6) and sophomore Rory Smail 140th (25:41.1).
"If we are able to put our best seven runners together on the same day, this team has the potential to do something very special this season," Vanhoy said.
The Cal Poly men, who received votes in the USTFCCCA National Coaches' Poll on Oct. 4 for the first time since 2013, head to UC Riverside's Ag/Ops Course on Saturday, Oct. 29, for the Big West Championships.
"We look forward to Xian coming back into the lineup for the Big West Championships and beyond, and getting Will back at 100 percent," Vanhoy said. "There's a lot left to look forward to this season."
Players Mentioned
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