The Sacramento State men’s cross-country team finished first and the women’s team took third place on Saturday in the Sacramento Jamboree invitational at Granite Regional Park.

 

The meet was hosted by Sacramento State and consisted of a men’s four mile race and a women’s three mile race. Seven teams competed in the invitational: UC Berkley, San Jose State, Nevada State, San Francisco State, UC Davis, Santa Clara and Notre Dame de Namur.

 

Scott Grose of the Hornets came in first, with teammates Colin Szhener and Dominic Vogl taking second and third place.

 

“I didn’t expect them to be up front,” said Sacramento State cross-country fan Gail Szhener. “It was really exciting to see them so clearly take the top three places.”

 

Grose said that he stayed with the pack of cross-country runners for the majority of the race until the very end, when he broke away from the pack to take the lead.

 

“I put surge up on the hill, to take the lead,” said Grose. “Once the coach told me to go ahead, I went for it and never looked back.”

 

Vogl, who finished in second said the outcome of the race is a good start for meets in the upcoming season. “I’m glad with the results, this race helped us shake of the cobwebs,” said Vogl.

 

On the women’s side, Kristina Holtz finished fourth in the race, and was the first Hornet to cross the finish line. Holtz said her individual and the team’s success was due to practice and encouragement from team members.

 

“Caprice [Hornet teammate] was unattached, but encouraging me the whole way,” said Holtz. “That’s what kept me going through the race.”

 

Scott Abbott, head coach for cross-country agreed, saying that Caprice Bradshaw was a huge asset to the team. Bradshaw came in seventh place; however, she is currently not eligible for the team.

 

“As soon as we add Caprice, we’re off to win,” said Abbott.

 

Abott said this was the first time the top six runners on the women’s team ran the race under 19 minutes.

 

Jodie Leal, who was the second Hornet to cross the finish line, said the Hornets took advantage of the home course.

 

“We were able to practice on our course,” said Leal. “Everybody was cheering for us, so that helped.

 

Zaki Syed can be reached at [email protected]