Cross Country Competes at Westmont Invite, Men and Women Finish in Top Five

Whittier College Cross Country teams opened their seasons at the Westmont Invitational in Santa Barbara, Calif. on September 16.  The Men finished in fourth place with 109 team points and the Women finished fifth with 133 team points.  Westmont College won both the men's and women's events with 31 and 28 team points, respectively.

Nicholas Salomone '07 led the way for the men with a ninth-place finish.  His time of 27 minutes, 53 seconds was the second best time ever for a Whittier runner on Westmont's 8k course. Raphael Rodriguez '10 was the second Poet to cross the finish line.  He finished in 19th place with a time of 28:58.  Yuki Miyagiwa '09 came in 29th place with a time of 30:07.  Nick Daum '08  finished four seconds later in 31st place in 30:11 and rounding out the top five for the Poets was Eric Shane '07 in 32nd place with a time of 30:13. 

On the women's side, Darlene Partida '10 was the first Poet to cross the finish line.  She finished 11th with a time of 20:32.  It was the third fastest time for a Whittier runner on Westmont's 5k women's course.  Laura Guzman '07 came in 24th place with a time of 21:50.  Adrianna Durflinger '08 was next for the Poets in 40th place in 22:54.  Jenna Montoya '10 finished in 49th place with a time of 24:22.  Rounding out the top five Poets was Jill Armstrong '10 just 4 seconds behind Montoya in 50th place.

The Poets are in competition again on September 23 at the University of Redlands at 8am.