The Olympian’s Cross Country team is competing with nationally ranked NCAA teams with strength and endurance.
On Sept. 15, the team, currently ranked 4th in the state, traveled to San Diego State University where they competed in the Aztec Invitational which is an 8k race. On this day the competition came from older Division I athletes.
The Olympians would finish eighth with 192 points behind the Air Force Academy, who finished 6th with 164 points. The Olympians however did beat nearby University of San Diego who finished tenth with 276 points.
The Olympians were led by sophomore Daniel Gonia who finished with a time of 26:44, which would be good for 37th place on the day.
On September 29th the Olympians traveled north to Stanford University for the Stanford Invitational. In this meet Mesa would face off against the number one team in the nation the Stanford Cardinals.
In this Invitational, the Olympians split the squad up with a group of runners running in the 4k and the other group running in the 8k.
In the 8k race Daniel Gonia forged the way with a blistering time of 24:41 which would earn him 21st place. Following him was freshman Bernardo Bahena, who came in with a time of 26:37.
In the second race David Edwards came in at 12:50 which was good enough to earn him eleventh place. Freshman Mike Denman came in right behind with a time of 13:07, claiming 21st place for himself.
The Olympians would leave Stanford University with a 26th place finish with a total of 682 points.
The men have the PCC championships next located at Morley Field here in San Diego on Oct. 26, 2:15 P.M.