Santisteban Places Third at Virginia Invitational

Santisteban Places Third at Virginia Invitational
Sophomore guides women to fourth; men place sixth in prestigious event

Sophomore Kelsey Santisteban led the Bears with a third-place performance in Virginia.

Sept. 22, 2012

EARLYSVILLE, Va. - The California men's and women's cross country teams competed in the prestigious Panorama Farms Invitational on Saturday in Earlysville, Va. with the women placing fourth and the men finishing sixth in the event.

Led by a third-place performance from sophomore Kelsey Santisteban, the Bear women recorded 83 points to finish behind first-place Wisconsin (35), second-place Kentucky (47) and third-place and 15th ranked Virginia (57). Santisteban completed the 5,000-meter women's race in 17:37.4, six seconds behind the winner Cally Macumber (17:29.2) of Kentucky and three seconds back of second-place Catherine White (17:34.7) of Virginia.

"Kelsey was outstanding, vying for individual honors today," said head coach Tony Sandoval. "She ran with the lead pack for most of the race and the top three fought it out over the last 600. Kelsey was the eighth fastest all time at the Panorama Farms course.

"Her teammates ran in a pack better today but let the lead pack get away over a long hill," Sandoval continued. "A couple Golden Bears lost their way and were disqualified for cutting the course late on the race. They were potential top five for Cal scoring. The scores may have been closer to Virginia but we'll learn from this."


Junior Hillary Hayes (18:47.6) placed 18th and freshman Ashlyn Dadkhah (18:47.6) was 19th overall. Fellow freshman Mariel Mendoza completed the course in 18:55.6 to place 22nd and sophomore Christine Bowlus was a second behind with a time of 18:56.6 to finish 23rd.





On the men's side, Cal recorded 153 overall points to place sixth. Fourth-ranked Oklahoma (40), 22nd ranked Arkansas (61), Virginia (66), 21st ranked Michigan (75) and Duke (135) took the top five spots, respectively.

Sophomore Chris Walden, racing for the first time this fall, completed the 8,000-meter race in 24:52.9 to place 23rd overall and lead all Bears in the event. Junior transfer Agustin Alva was close behind in 26th with a time of 25:02.2, while sophomore Matt Carpowich was four seconds back of Alva with a time of 25:06.5 to finish 27th.

Senior Simon Schmidt placed 42nd with a time of 25:46.6 and senior Renaud Poizat finished 45th with a time of 25:52.6.

"Chris ran a smart race and moved well to take top honors for the Bears," Sandoval said. "Agustin and Matt, both newcomers, ran well in their first 8000 race. Agustin ran with the lead pack and faded somewhat, but I like his aggressive running style. Matt was too cautious and finished well. The heat and humidity was a factor late in the men's race."

The Bears will return to the Bay Area next weekend where they will compete in the Stanford Invitational on Sept. 29 at 10:50 a.m.


Men's Results
Team Results (top-six): 1. Oklahoma 40; 2. Arkansas 61; 3. Virginia 66; 4. Michigan 75; 5. Duke 135; 6. California 153.

Individual Winner: Kemoy Campbell (Arkansas) 24:04.7. Cal Finishers: 23. Chris Walden 24:52.9; 26. Agustin Alva 25:02.2; 27. Matt Carpowich 25:06.5; 42. Simon Schmidt 25:46.6; 45. Renaud Poizat 25:52.6; 49. J.P. Slater 26:02.2; 53. Jordan Locklear 26:12.0;

Women's Results
Team Results (top-five): 1. Wisconsin 35; 2. Kentucky 47; 3. Virginia 57; 4. California 83; 5. Liberty 136.

Individual Winner: Cally Macumber (Kentucky) 17:29.2. Cal Finishers: 3. Kelsey Santisteban 17:37.4; 18. Hillary Hayes 18:47.6; 19. Ashlyn Dadkhah 18:47.6; 22. Mariel Mendoza 18:55.6; 23. Christine Bowlus 18:56.6.