Results

STANFORD, Calif. -- The Cal State East Bay women's cross country team had a strong showing on Saturday morning at the 2016 Stanford Invitational, as the team continues to prepare for California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) championships at the end of this month.

Overall, the Pioneers finished 13th in a loaded field of teams representing all three NCAA Divisions at Stanford Golf Course. They ended up just behind Division II rivals Cal Poly Pomona (8th), Azusa Pacific (9th), Fresno Pacific (10th), and Stanislaus State (11th), as well as Division I squad Fresno State (12th). 

"Today was an exciting day," said head coach Tony Nicolosi. "We had a tough two weeks of training, so I didn't necessarily bank on seeing times as fast as we saw two weeks ago, but this group really stepped up. It was nice to see the women finally have their full group together. They ran tough, and this was the first time I've left a meet thinking our women can be very competitive in a team score. Dana and Kandace had great debuts, and others maintained their consistent racing."

For the third straight meet, senior Kelsey Lamb led the Pioneers individually. She placed 64th in the overall field, crossing the finish line in 22:49.7. 

Junior newcomer Dana Pollard competed in her first meet of the season and was impressive, finishing 77th overall in 23:12.3. She was followed closely by Kandace Compton, who was also making her 2016 debut and crossed the tape in 23:29.9 in 84th place.

Senior Sarah Perrin was the team's fourth finisher, continuing a strong fall season by taking 94th overall in 23:49. Freshmen Megan Satterfield (24:03.6) and Andrea Romero (24:15.8) were not far behind the veteran East Bay native.

Sophomore Taryn Stevenson (25:49.2), freshman Alondra Castro Ortiz (26:29.9), and junior Kenia Rendon (28:30.1) rounded out a solid morning for the Pioneer women.

The team returns to competition on Friday with another Bay Area meet, the San Francisco State Invitational on Oct. 7 at Golden Gate Park.