XC | No. 6 Women Finish First, Men Fifth at Roy Griak Invitational

THE RUNDOWN

Men's Results | Women's Results

SAN FRANCISCO – The No. 6 University of San Francisco women's cross country team continued their dominant start to the 2017 season with another first-place team and individual finish.

Weronika Pyzik led the Dons again, finishing the race in first place with a time of 21:10, followed shortly by fellow Don Charlotte Taylor. The Dons weren't finished there as Isabelle Brauer and Marie Bouchard came in third and fourth respectively.

Rounding out the scoring for the Dons was Tatjana Schulte, who came in 12^th with a time of 21:54.

With this win the women remain unbeaten on the season. Facing stronger competition, the Dons were able to finish ahead of three nationally ranked opponents on their way to victory today.

The men began the Division I races this morning. The Dons finished fifth as a team, totaling 140 points, against strong competition. Mohamed Aziz continued his great form and led the Dons finishing seventh with a time of 25:17. Fellow senior and Don, Ben Alcock, finishing just behind Aziz in ninth with a time of 25:22.

Rounding out the scoring for the Dons were the trio of juniors Scott Halsted (37^th – 26:17), Caleb McClain (45^th – 26:28) and Alex Howard (58^th – 26:45).

RACE FACTS:

Weronika Pyzik's first place finish makes that her second of the 2017 season, and back-to-back.
Pyzik, Brauer and Schulte all improved on their first race times from the USF Invitational.
The Dons remain unbeaten on the season, garnering 22 points as team. They beat three nationally ranked schools No. 19 Minnesota, No. 20 UCLA and No. 25 Michigan State.
The top three finishers for the men's side, Mohamed Aziz, Ben Alcock and Scott Halsted raced to season best times at today's meet.

COACH'S QUOTE
On the women's team performance:
We are pleased, although not surprised, with our women's team performance today. Our race plan was for all of the women to run together through 4K and we weren't quite able to execute that. However, our women did a good job of running very controlled early and, for the most part, finished strong. Given where we are right now, it was a solid team run and gives us something to build upon as we prepare for our first true team test in three weeks at Wisconsin.

On Weronika Pyzik's performance so far this season:
Weronika is gaining some valuable racing experience and confidence. She was 8th in the west region as a freshman and did run 15:59 for 5000 meters on the track. So, we always knew she could compete at this level but it is nice to see her put things together.

On the men's performance:
Our men have a lot of room for improvement although it is nice to mix it up with some top teams from other regions. We are probably most pleased with how they battled the last 3k on a really tough course in really hot conditions. We just need to get fitter and keep working on staying committed across the board.

WHAT'S NEXT

The next race for both the men and women will be in three weeks time, when the Dons will head to Madison, Wisc. For the Nuttycombe Wisconsin Invitational on Oct. 13.

USF Results:
WOMEN – 1^st Place; 22 points
1. Weronika Pyzik - 21:10
2. Charlotte Taylor - 21:12
3. Isabelle Brauer - 21:29
4. Marie Bouchard - 21:31
12. Tatjana Schulte – 21:54
16. Lizzie Bird – 22:03
17. Lea Meyer – 22:05
48. Frederique Latraverse – 22:55
53. Valerie Almanza – 23:01.2
64. Emma Stahr – 23:12.7
99. Kelsey Nielsen – 23:56.1

MEN – 5^th Place; 140 points
7. Mohamed Aziz – 25:17
9. Ben Alcock – 25:22
37. Scott Halsted – 26:17
45. Caleb McClain – 26:28
58. Alex Howard – 26:45
65. Hugh Nicklason – 27:00
67. Leo Donlea – 27:03
72. Isaias DeLeon – 27:10.5
91. Daniel Maneloveg – 27:39.6
115. Jacob Allen – 28:35.6
116. Henry Mong – 28:35.9

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