Results (PDF): Men | Women

TRINIDAD, Calif. — The Dominican University of California women's cross country team made an impressive 2014 debut, placing fourth out of six teams in the Humboldt State Cross Country Invitational at Patrick's Point State Park on Saturday.

After having spent last season on the women's soccer team, sophomore Julianna Mendez made a splash with a fifth-place finish in her first collegiate race with a time of 23:03.22, 51 seconds off of leader Tatiana Gillick of Humboldt State.

Of the 52 runners, Michelle Gonzalez placed 33rd with a time of 26:16.24 and Sierra Najolia finished in 37th place with a time of 26:47.96. Franki Crites finished with a time of 28:08.52, in 45th place. Returners Katie Gomez and Aimee Carrazco finished in 49th and 51st place, respectively, with times of 29:13.11 and 29:46.62.

The men's team finished fourth out of four teams. The team's two seniors did not race so all of Dominican's runners were participating in their first collegiate meets. Of the 57 total runners, Dominican's highest performer was Anthony Sasano, who clocked in with a time of 29:23.93. Leslie Williams placed 48th overall with a time of 30:43.98 and his twin brother, LaTrielle Williams, finished in 54th place with a time of 32:34.24. Diallo Weeks and Chris Suen finished in 55th and 56th place with times of 33:08.77 and 33:13.59.

"The races were a challenging adventure with a wall that both the men and women had to climb twice during the race," said Head Coach Teressa DiPerna. "It was a super curvey course complete with fog and vista ocean views among the redwoods. This is a nice start for what was many of our runners' first collegiate race."

Also of note, Assistant Coach Justin Valdez competed unattached. He was the top men's runner with a time of 25:46.35.

The Penguins will next compete in the Stanford Invitational at Stanford Golf Course on Saturday, Sept. 27.