Sophomore Ben Morales finished in fourth place at the Triton Invitational on Saturday at the University of California, San Diego. Morales, a transfer student from Oklahoma State, completed the eight-meter circuitous course in 25 minutes, 31 seconds.

“The course was really challenging because it was hard to get your footing on the sand and the loose rocks,” Morales said. “My goal was to get to the front of the race as fast as possible.”

The men’s team finished fourth at the invitational.

Morales’ four teammates combined to round out the top-five finishers from Sac State. Senior Jake Mills placed 12th (26:13), freshman Tom Getchell 18th(26:39), senior Cuco Chavez 23rd (26:57), and freshman Dustin Fee 39th(28:11).

“This was the men’s best team performance of the season,” said Hornet coach Joe neff, who is hoping for a top-twenty performance out of Morales and Chavez at the conference championships in two weeks.

The women’s team had a tough time at the invitational because of nagging injuries. The team traveled to San Diego with only five runners this weekend, with the rest staying in Sacramento to rehabilitate their lingering injuries. The team is focusing on healing quickly so they will be healthy and able to compete in the conference championships.

“I am really proud of the ladies team because the runners who have had injuries are still coming to practice,” Neff said. “They are showing up to early morning practice to stay in shape, so that they can be ready to race as soon as they are cleared.”

Melissa Madeson, a fifth year senior, finished first for the women. Her time of 23:30 placed her 19th among the 100-plus competitors. Overall, the women finished in ninth place out of 11 teams. Her teammates junior Annette Corey 42nd(24:17), freshman Virginia Grillo 57th (25:03), freshman Bianca Davis 59th (25:09), and Jennifer Burkhalter in 87th(27:12) combined to help the team place in the event.

Both teams will compete at the Big Sky Conference Championships in Pocatello, Idaho in less than two weeks, on Oct. 26. If either team or individual runners qualify by placing among the top runners in their event, then their season will continue on until the NCAA West Regionals in Palo Alto on Nov. 16th.