FRESNO, CALIF.-It's been an outstanding year for Sonoma State's Women's Cross Country program. Coming into today's meet the Seawolves have secured multiple team victories including winning the Seawolf Invite which was held at the same course as today's championship. Overall, it was a great day on the six kilometer course with the team earning a fourth place finish, the second highest CCAA finish in program history and the highest overall team finish in 23 years!
Constance O'Neal once again led the way for her team with a great individual effort. Her final time of 21:32.7 was good for a fourth place finish. O'Neal has now posted four consecutive top four finishes including three individual first place finishes. She flew through the course with an average mile time of 5:46.6 across the 3.7 mile long course. For her domination up to and including today's competition, O'Neal was named the CCAA's Newcomer of the Year! O'Neal's emergence as one of the top competitors in the West Region has been huge in this team's rise.
The Seawolves second finisher on the day also happens to be one of the conference's top freshmen. Makenzie Kordic battled all race long en route to earning a top 15 finish. She was one of three freshmen to finish that highly. Kordic has been incredibly impressive in her debut season and went toe to toe against some of the best runners in the West Region. Her final time of 22:20.4 came courtesy of maintaining a sub six minute mile pace. With the Seawolves deploying so many young runners, having Kordic already cement herself among the conference's best bodes well for the future of Sonoma State running!
While Kordic made her CCAA debut, Sophie Rodriguez wrapped up her final conference championship meet. Rodriguez has been a key figure for the Seawolves all year in both her performance on the course and her leadership off of it. Rodriguez finished the race in a solid 22:20.4 and posted a top 24 finish in a field that featured close to 100 athletes. Her first mile split for the day was excellent as she posted a 5:36.1 though the opening mile of the race and set her up well for a strong performance overall.
The two final Seawolves were a pair of freshmen who have been staples of the rotation all year long. Scarlett Riddle brought home a top 30 finish and was mere seconds away from a sub-23 minute mark. Riddle finished the six kilometer course in 23:01.7 and spent much of the race battling with runners from Chico State and Cal Poly Pomona. Angeline Gutierrez wrapped up her race in 24:24.2 and was the Seawolves last key piece in securing a top four team finish!
This race marked the best team performance for Sonoma State in over two decades. For a team featuring so many new and young faces it was incredibly promising watching them face off against some of the top programs in the country. The team will now turn its attention towards Billings, Montana for the NCAA Regional Meet!
