Results (PDF)

HAYWARD, Calif. -- The Cal State East Bay men's cross country team placed 11th on Saturday at NCAA Division II West Region Championships, the program's highest finish at the meet since 1998. Senior Chris Lessard led the way with a record-setting 10k performance at Ask Creek Preserve to become the first Pioneer to capture All-West Region honors since CSUEB re-joined Division II. 

For the second year in a row under head coach Tony Nicolosi, the Pioneers improved six places in the West Regional standings, going from 23rd in 2015, to 17th last year, to 11th this season. East Bay scored 302 points to finish just five points behind 10th-place UC San Diego.

The team's effort at West Regionals was perhaps just as impressive as its historic performance at conference championships. This is the first meet of the season contested at 10k, and despite the relatively unfamiliar distance, all seven Pioneers ran personal best times. Even more remarkably, the athletes who ran today posted seven of the ten fastest 10k times in school history.

Lessard broke his own program record by more than 28 seconds, crossing the finish line in 30:54.9. He's the first Pioneer ever to break 31 minutes in the 10k. The senior placed 21st in the overall field of 188, by far the highest by an East Bay runner in the CCAA era. With a top-25 finish, he earned a spot on the 2017 All-West Region Team.

Sophomores Pedro Cruz and Esteban Leon finished within one second of each other in 47th and 48th place, posting the second and third fastest 10k times in school history. Similar to Lessard, Cruz carved more than 20 seconds off his 2016 time to finish in 31:33.9.

2017 was a breakout season for Leon, who emerged as one of the team's top performers along with Cruz and Lessard. The same could be said for fellow sophomore Leo Skellenger, who placed 86th Saturday with the program's sixth-fastest 10k ever. 

Sophomore Alberto Venegas finished an even 100th for East Bay's fifth team score and now ranks seventh on East Bay's all-time list. Junior Israel Sotelo posted the eighth-fastest time ever and finished in 105th place. Sophomore Miguel Morales closed out the morning in 116th place with a time that ranks him 10th in school history.

Six of the seven Pioneers in Monmouth on Saturday will be back next season, providing plenty of reason for optimism about the future of CSUEB cross country. Now the team will set its sights even higher, and with good reason, as the Pioneers are not far off from being fast enough to compete for a national championship.


CAL STATE EAST BAY RESULTS
2017 NCAA Division II West Regionals

21. Chris Lessard, 30:54.9   *All-West Region
47. Pedro Cruz, 31:33.9
48. Esteban Leon, 31:34.3
86. Leo Skellenger, 32:15.7
100. Alberto Venegas, 32:30.5
105. Israel Sotelo, 32:37.7
116. Miguel Morales, 32:50.2