Results (PDF)

SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. -- The Cal State East Bay men's cross country team turned in an impressive performance Saturday morning to finish in sixth place at 2018 California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) Championships.

The Pioneers narrowly held off seventh-place SF State by two points despite the Gators having the No. 2 overall finisher. That individual was one of just two runners not from Chico State in the top 10, as the Wildcats claimed their 17th straight conference title.

For CSUEB, this is the program's third straight top-six finish under head coach Tony Nicolosi after last-place finishes in each of its first seven years as a member of the CCAA.

This young Pioneer squad was, fittingly, led by a freshman on the 8k course at Cal State San Bernardino. Xavier Smith continued an outstanding rookie campaign by capturing CCAA Freshman of the Year honors as the top finishing true freshman in the field. He led East Bay with a 21st place overall finish, completing the course in 25:26.1.

Smith is the first male runner in CSUEB history to earn the distinction of CCAA Freshman of the Year. He's just the second Pioneer overall, joining Sarah Perrin in 2013. 

"I'm incredibly proud of Xavier," praised head coach Tony Nicolosi. "He's a talented young man, but this is truly a surprise. It's an incredibly hard award to win -- there aren't many freshmen who can hang near the front at this meet. This best is yet to come for this guy."

Esteban Leon had a great final kick to finish 38th overall as East Bay's No. 2 finisher, moving up five places over the final three minutes of the race. The senior turned in a time of 26:01.2.

The trio of senior Israel Sotelo, sophomore Luke Calubayan, and junior Melvin Esteva finished in a row to occupy the final three spots in the CSUEB team score, placing 42nd, 43rd, and 44th, respectively. Sotelo ran the course in 26:07.5, followed by Calubayan, whose week-to-week growth continued with a time of 26:09.8. Esteva ran an outstanding second half of the race to notch a mark of 26:12.7.

Competing for the first time at a CCAA Championship meet, freshman Bryan Llopis placed 62nd in 27:03.7, while fellow rookie Justin Flores took 72nd with a time of 27:44.6.

"Today was tough as we lost Julian Johnson early to an injury,' Nicolosi commented. "Unfortunately this conference is just too good to lose one of our best runners. Six of our eight runners were competing at Championships for the first time, and they gave it all they had."

He added, "With the Regional meet being a 10k, if we can get healthy in the next couple weeks, I think this team can finish off the season strong. We aren't out of it yet."

The upcoming NCAA Division II West Regionals take place Saturday, Nov. 17 in chilly Billings, Mont. and will serve as the qualifier for the national championship meet.