SANTA CLARITA, Calif – Caltech Men's and Women's Cross Country ran in The Master's XC Invitational Saturday morning, posting strong team results lifted by some outstanding individual performances.
In the Women's 6K, senior Sophie Dalfonzo (Fair Haven, N.J. / Biotechnology & Rumson-Fair Regional) led the way with a time of 22:28.00, finishing 17th overall. Junior Gigi Pistilli (Portola Valley, Calif. / Woodside) also finished in the top half in 62nd with a time of 23:38.40. Following was junior Elisa Grillo (Cypress, Texas / Bridgeland) with a time of 24:50.60, first-year runner Shrila Esturi (Campbell, Calif. / Saint Francis) timed at 25:00.90, and junior Camilla Power (Edmonds, Wash. / Saint James) finishing at 25:09.80 placing all three within the top 150 runners at 117, 126, and 131 respectively. The team finished 13th out of 22 programs with a score of 347, beating out SCIAC rival Cal Lutheran and other programs from NCAA Divisions I and II.
Caltech had six other runners in this race with first-year runner Hypatia Hamkins (New York / The Bearley School) in 156th timed at 25:49.00, sophomore Layla Adeli (Pacific Palisades, Calif. / Palisades Charter) placing 169th with a time of 26:15.80, and first-year Katelyn Sadorf (Boca Raton, Fla. / Spanish River) finishing at 26:28.60 placing her in 173rd. They were followed by first-year Jennifer Cruden (Los Altos, Calif. / Los Altos) in 192nd with a time of 27:41.30, then first-year Raquel "Rocky" Lample (Encino, Calif. / Notre Dame HS) at 195th timed at 27:48.80, and senior Sydney Veron (Bellevue, Wash. / Eastside Preparatory) in 204th with a time of 28:32.00.
In the Men's 8k, Caltech had five runners competing as the split-squad weekend had other Beavers running in yesterday's NCAA Division III Pre-Nationals Meet in Terre Haute, Indiana. First-year Aditya Pakal (The Woodlands, Texas / The John Cooper School) was the top finisher with a time of 26:37.70. He was followed by senior Thomas Maclean (Redding, Calif. / Shasta) who also finished in the top 150 out of 234 competitors and a time of 26:43.10. Sophomore Divan Mejia Gonzalez (La Quinta, Calif. / La Quinta) finished in 29:56.70, rookie Gavin John (Swarthmore, Penn. / Strath Haven) clocked 30:39.80, and junior Steve Garcia (Van Nuys, Calif. / Magnolia Science Academy 1) crossed the line after 30:47.40. The team bested SCIAC rival Occidental College's top five by a difference of 76 points.
Head Coach Kelli Blake and the Beavers will gear up for their next competition at the Pomona-Pitzer Invitational on Saturday, Oct. 19.
