TMC notebook: Mustangs team up for meet victory
Men's cross country wins Vanguard Invite; women finish second.
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By Dan Agnew: Signal Staff Writer Posted: October 9, 2011 1:55 a.m. |
So far this fall, The Master’s College has earned notoriety for individual accomplishments in cross country.
On Saturday, it was all about the team — specifically the men’s team — which won the Vanguard Invitational in Costa Mesa.
The women’s team didn’t do bad either, finishing as the meet’s runner-up.
Both programs will likely move up in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics coaches polls for their efforts.
Meanwhile, the men’s and women’s soccer teams, which also rank in the top 25 polls, dove into Golden State Athletic Conference play this week.
Cross Country
Returning to competition for the first time in three weeks, the TMC men’s team won the 22nd Annual Vanguard Cross Country Invitational on Saturday in Costa Mesa, marking its first meet victory of the season.
The men’s team, ranked 6th in the NAIA coaches poll, had an overall time of 2 hours, 9 minutes and 14 seconds in the 8K race edged out Cal Baptist’s finish in 2:11:54.
In the women’s race, the NAIA 12th-ranked Mustangs finished second as a team with a time of 1 hour, 34 minutes and 31 seconds in the 5K course, which was about three minutes behind Azusa Pacific’s winning result.
A total of 12 schools participated on the men’s side and 14 for the women, which included several members of the GSAC and some NCAA Division I teams.
Three TMC men’s runners finished in the top five individually on the day with Anthony Pizzo’s second-place finish leading the pack. Pizzo clocked a time of 24:55 to finish two seconds behind winner Wade Meddles of Azusa Pacific.
The Mustangs also saw John Gilbertson take third at 24:59 and Josiah Downer came in fifth place with a time of 25:50.
Holly Kopp was once again the top finisher for the TMC women, clocking 18:05 for third place.
Both squads will be back in action at the Biola Invitational on Oct. 22 in La Mirada.
