The Cal Poly men’s cross country team took home their second consecutive Big West Championship Saturday. Senior Swarnjit Boyal, junior Peter Costrilios and junior Mikey Giguere finished in second, third and fourth place respectively.
At UC Riverside’s Ag./Ops course, the Mustangs won the 8K with 26 points separating them from second place finisher UC Santa Barbara. Cal State Fullerton finished third but was 57 points behind the Gauchos.
Near the halfway mark of the race, UC Davis’ Jordy Ceja lead the race with a pace of 9:48.9. By the 6.5K mark, Boyal and UC Davis graduate transfer Thomas Madden were neck-and-neck with times of 20:31.7-20:31.9. Madden finished with 24:13.17 while Boyal crossed in 24:21.4.
With only one and a half kilometers left, Costrilios had the strongest kick of the day to jump from 12th place to third place. He finished in 24:39.9.
Sophomore Chas Cook and junior Sean McDermott also scored for Cal Poly with seventh and 13th place finishes, respectively.
In the women’s 6K, UC Santa Barbara defeated Cal Poly 45 to 47, which tied for the closest score in the 35-year history of this meet. Mustangs sophomore Miranda Daschian led Cal Poly as the runner-up, finishing in 20:26.8. UC Santa Barbara senior Jenna Hinkle edged Daschian, finishing first in 20:17.8.
At the 3.2K checkpoint, Daschian moved up from fifth place to close in on Hinkle. Gauchos sophomore Katie Camarena helped UC Santa Barbara clinch the team title with a third-place finish in 20:28.8.
Freshman Sierra Brill was the next to finish for the Mustangs, taking sixth place at 20:49.5. Julia Vasquez finished 10th for the Mustangs, a seven-spot improvement from her time at the 2016 Big
West Championships.
The Mustangs will now train for the NCAA West Regional Nov. 10 in Seattle. Qualifiers advance to the National Championships in Louisville Nov. 18.