Gauchos run third at Palomar
The Saddleback men's cross country team had a solid showing at the opening meet of the season by finishing third at the Palomar Invitational on Friday in Oceanside. The Gauchos had all seven runners finish in the top 35.
Saddleback entered the season looking to improve on a 20th place finish at the state meet last year and the early returns were good with a solid showing to open the 2017 season. The top five runners all finished in the top 25, giving them a solid finish with 115 total harriers in the race.
Freshman Brody Ray led the charge, finishing 14th overall and 11th among runners in the team competition. He covered the 4-mile trek in 22:17.3 in his first collegiate meet.
Roy was followed by fellow freshman Nicholas Dorsett, who was two spots behind him with a time of 22:20.2. Jacob King finished 17th in the team competition (22:32.2) while Nicholas O'Briensky was 22nd (22:41.5) and Michael Kabbout 24th (22:47.1).
"I was proud of the way the guys competed," head coach Matt Sherman said. "With so many freshmen, you never quite know what to expect."
Saddleback was second among Orange Empire Conference teams as Riverside captured the team title. Fullerton finished in fifth place overall out of 11 teams represented in team competition.
Saddleback will run again this Friday at the SoCal Preview at Central Park in Santa Clarita. Race time is scheduled for 10:00 AM.