SANTA ROSA, Calif. — The Dominican University of California cross country teams saw mixed results on Saturday in the Sonoma State Invitational at Baylands Regional Park. Sophomore Julianna Mendez broke her own personal record and set a new women's program record in the Division II era, leading the Penguins to a fourth-place finish, while the men's team finished in sixth place.

"This was a great race for all of our women," said Head Coach Teressa DiPerna. "All of them improved by almost minute.  They really went for it and put themselves in a competitive position, which really paid off."

As a team, the women finished with a total time of 2:05:40.27 for an average of 25:08.06. Fresno Pacific led all teams with a total time of 1:54:03.48. Individually, Mendez clocked in at 22:33.16, less than a minute off the pace of first-place finisher Courtney Moore of FPU (21:47.70). Of the 60-runnear field, freshman Sierra Najolia finished 24th with a time of 25:28.71. Freshman Franki Crites, sophomore Katie Gomez, and senior Alexis Bailey finished 34th through 36th with times of 26:29.59, 26:36.44, and 27:10.98. Junior Aimee Carrazco clocked in at 28:57.73, good for 45th place.

The men's course had multiple hills and was challenging, which saw the Penguins finish in sixth of six teams with a total time of 2:31:01.75 for an average of 30:12.35. Fresno Pacfici also toppe all men's teams with a total time of 2:13:06.35. Unattached runner Ben Stern led all runners with a time of 26:04.49. The first five attached runners to cross the finish line were from FPU.

Anthony Sassano continued his strong freshman campaign with a 14th place finish out of 55 runners, crossing the finish line in 28:00.4. Redshirt senior Michael Temple finished with a time of 29:19.34. Freshman Leslie Williams III placed 32nd with a time of 30:02.21. Senior Diallo Weeks finished in 38th at 31:21.02. Freshman LaTrielle Williams clocked in at 32:19.14, good for 41st. Freshman Isaiah Soto and senior Austin Puyaoan finished 48th and 49th with times of 34:02.45 and 34:03.92. Sophomore Neal Mathew ran as an individual with a 51st place finish at 34:23.02.

On Saturday, Oct. 18, the Penguins will head to Baylands Park in Sunnyvalle, California for the Bronco Invitational hosted by Santa Clara University. They'll wrap up the regular season at the Triton Classic in La Jolla, California on the campus of UC San Diego on Saturday, Oct. 25.