Caltech Cross Country was amongst the top five schools in two categories at the Highlander Invitational Saturday, as the men won the 8k open race and the women placed third as a team in the 6K open.
The Beaver men won the 8k with an average time of 26:07. Junior Ryan Fortin (Londonderry, N.H. / Londonderry) placed 14th out of over 150 runners with a time of 25:58.4, just four seconds off his personal best. Sophomore Stephen Goehringer (Wellesley, Mass. / Wellesley) (26:02.3) and senior Jacob Wolmer (Tenafly, N.J. / Tenafly) (26:08.0) also finished amongst the top 20 runners. Wolmer's time was a personal best.
Wolmer was one of an incredible seven Caltech men to set a personal record time Saturday. First-year Cleatus Oakes (Point Pleasant, N.J. / Marine Academy of Technology and Environmental Science) (26:12.8), sophomore Aditya Pakal (The Woodlands, Texas / The John Cooper School) (26:14.2), graduate student Sean Corman (Waterford, Conn. / Waterford High School / Worcester Polytechnic Institute) (26:15.2), junior Colin La (Potomac, Md. / Winston Churchill) (26.35.3), first-year Varun Rodriguez (Medina, Ohio / Medina High School) (27:38.3) and first-year Rafael Castro (Briarcliff Manor, N.Y. / Hackley School) (28:47.9) all set personal bests in the 8k race.
The Beaver women placed third out of 14 schools in the 6k open with an average time of 23:40. Senior Gigi Pistilli (Portola Valley, Calif. / Woodside) placed third overall out of more than 100 runners with a personal-best time of 22:23.1. Sophomore teammate Katelyn Sadorf (Boca Raton, Fla. / Spanish River) finished fifth with a personal-best time of 22:37.4. Senior Camilla Power (Edmonds, Wash. / Saint James) also finished in the top 20 and achieved a personal best with her time of 23:38.8.
First-year Raquel "Rocky" Lample (Encino, Calif. / Notre Dame HS) (24:19.3), first-year Annabelle Eisner (Boulder, Colo. / Fairview High School) (25:21.7), First-year Michelle Cai (San Diego, Calif. / Scripps Ranch High School) (26:41.7), sophomore Jennifer Cruden (Chesterfield, N.J. / Northern Burlington County Regional High School) (27:00.5) and first-year Carolina Jones (Kinston, N.C. / Arendell Parrott Academy) (27:59.9) all ran personal bests at the Highlander Invitational. In total between the men and women, 15 Caltech runners achieved a personal best on Saturday.
Caltech's next meet will be the SCIAC Championships which will be held in Claremont Saturday, Nov. 1. The meet begins at 8:30 a.m.
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