SUNNYVALE, Calif. – Diego Montag stayed with the leaders throughout the men's 8K before finishing 10th, while Tatyana Robles turned in the fourth-fastest women's 6K in Dominican history to lead the Penguins on Saturday at the Santa Clara University Bronco Invitational at Baylands Park.
Chico State swept the team titles, winning the men's race with 50 points and the women's race with 26. Clovis Community College finished runner-up in both, scoring 92 points on the men's side and 64 in the women's race. Dominican placed 13th in the men's standings with 288 points, finishing ahead of American River, Lake Tahoe, Fresno Pacific and San Francisco State. The women took 11th with 255 points, ahead of Cal Poly Distance Club and UC Merced.
Montag established himself near the front immediately, sitting second overall at the 1,100-meter checkpoint before moving through 2,300 meters in fourth and 3,800 meters in eighth. He remained 12th at 5,400 meters and 11th at 6,900 before gaining another position over the closing stretch to finish 10th in 25:57.7. The performance also lowered Montag's previous 8K best of 26:00.0 and strengthened his hold on the No. 7 position in Dominican history.
Louigi Etta was Dominican's second finisher, crossing 81st in 27:28.4, just ahead of teammate Diego Alas. Alas closed particularly well, moving from 90th at the 6,900-meter checkpoint to 82nd at the finish in 27:29.7. His performance was a significant personal best and moved him to No. 11 on Dominican's all-time 8K list.
Dario Rodriguez added another record-book performance, placing 97th in 27:49.2. The junior lowered his previous best and moved to No. 15 all-time at Dominican. Emanuel Hurley completed the Penguins' scoring five in 140th at 28:39.1.
Malik Dekli followed in 154th at 28:53.5, with Jeroam Wood-Piña 157th in 29:00.6 and Ishaan Iyer 170th in 29:36.3. Aidan Gerdeman crossed in 178th at 30:15.2, while Isaac Robinson rounded out Dominican's finishers in 187th at 30:41.2.
Robles led the Dominican women in the 6K, placing 43rd overall in 23:49.1. The junior cut more than 20 seconds from the 24:09.8 she ran earlier this season and moved to No. 4 in program history, trailing only Julianna Mendez, Mia Sheets and Bella Bueno.
Jessica Carvalho was Dominican's second finisher in 66th at 24:29.9, while Sarah Chavez followed in 72nd at 24:48.1. Sadie Choi placed 86th in 25:25.2, and Abbigael Williams completed the Penguins' scoring five in 129th at 28:52.0.
The women remained relatively steady through the middle stages of the race. Robles moved from 44th at 2,300 meters to 40th at 5,400 before finishing 43rd, while Chavez climbed from 73rd at the opening checkpoint to 65th at 3,700 meters before eventually crossing in 72nd.
Jessup's Angela Gladysh won the women's individual race in 22:08.1, while unattached runner Michael Chambers took the men's race in 24:18.2.
