Sept. 26, 2009

PALO ALTO, Calif. - Competing in one of the top races of the season, the Long Beach State men's and women's cross country teams finished in the Top 10 at the Stanford Invitational as the men's squad came in at fifth place with 168 points and the women's team finished in seventh with 201 points.

Junior Josh Ruff was the top runner for The Beach as he crossed the finish line in 19th, recording a personal-best in the 8K with a time of 24:50 . Ruff's previous best was a mark of 25:38 at the Santa Clara Invitational in 2007.

Coming in second for the 49ers, was junior Travis Kuhlman as finished in 31st overall and tied his personal best of 25:13. Following close behind, was senior Dylan Jaedtke in 34th (25:14). Rounding out the men's side was sophomore Raul Arcos in 38th (25:20) and junior Steven DeCastro in 46th (25:31).

On the women's side, sophomore Liz Ramos was the top runner for the 49ers as she finished in 22nd and recorded a personal best in the 6K with a mark of 21:39. Ramos' previous best was at the Fullerton Opener this season as she crossed the finish line in a time of 23:16.

Junior Jennifer Rodriguez, came in second for LBSU as she finished in 39th (22:08), just missing by one second of tying her personal best of 22:07 ('07 West Regional). Sophomore Alisia Barajas came in third for the 49ers as she finished in 45th (22:15). Rounding out the women's side, freshman Anne Randall came in 46th (22:15) and senior Missy Barclay crossed the finish line in 49th (22:22).

Stanford swept the titles in both men's and women's races as the Cardinal scored 15 points in the men's competition and 24 points on the women's side. Chris Derrick of Stanford won the men's individual title with a time of 23:54. Tara Erdmann, who ran unattached, won the women's title as she crossed the line at 20:20.

"We had really good races from both teams," said distance coach Patrick Cunniff. "We had a great race from Josh Ruff and a strong overall performance from the whole men's team. We're really excited of what the men's squad is capable of accomplishing in competing with the top teams. The girls group ran in a very tight pack and had an outstanding team effort that gets us excited for future competitions!"

The 49ers return to action Oct. 17, as they travel back up to the Bay Area for the Santa Clara Invitational.

Stanford Invitational - Men's 8K
1. Stanford (15 points)
2. California (101)
3. UC Davis (102)
4. Chico State (158)
5. LONG BEACH STATE (168)
6. UC Santa Barbara (187)
7. Loyola Marymount (219)
8. Baylor (247)
9. Cal Poly Pomona (275)
10. UC Irvine (294)
11. Santa Clara (307)
12. CMS (310)
13. UTSA (330)
14. Sacramento State (373)
15. Humboldt State (401)
16. Academy of Art (410)
17. Saint Mary's (448)
18. West Valley College (590)

Long Beach State Men's Individual Results
19. Josh Ruff (24:50)
31. Travis Kuhlman (25:13)
34. Dylan Jaedtke (25:14)
38. Raul Arcos (25:20)
46. Steven DeCastro (25:31)

Stanford Invitational - Women's 6K
1. Stanford (24 points)
2. California (100 points)
3. Loyola Marymount (143)
4. UC Davis (145)
5. Chico State (187)
6. UC Santa Barbara (196)
7. Cal Poly (201)
7. LONG BEACH STATE (201)
9 . UTSA (269)
10. Sacramento State (282)
11. Southern California (332)
12. Seattle Pacific (334)
13. Santa Clara (350)
14. UC Irvine (351)
15. Cal State Northridge (408)
16. CMS (417)
17. Cal Poly Pomona (426)
18. Humboldt State (505)
19. Nevada (508)
20. San Diego State (569)
21. UNLV (572)
22. Saint Mary's (632)

Long Beach State Women's Individual Results
22. Liz Ramos (21:39)
39. Jennifer Rodriguez (22:08)
45. Alisia Barajas (22:15)
46. Anne Randall (22:15)
49. Missy Barclay (22:22)