Berlioux, Huston win individual titles at Aggie Open

Christopher Bullock

The Sacramento State Hornets’ cross country team kicked off their 2015 season in winning style at the 12th annual Aggie Open at the Putah Creek Reserve Course in Davis this morning.

Jacob Huston, on the men’s side, won first place in the individual 6K race with a time of 18:27, placing him four seconds ahead of the Aggies’ top finisher, Trevor Halsted. Only two Hornets placed in the individual top five out of 20 runners: Huston and sophomore Sam Scheuer, who finished with a time of 18:42.

Scheuer, who posted his best individual time by 30 seconds, was happy about how well the team did despite hosting a fairly new roster.

“Last year, it was Jacob, our top guy; then it was seven Davis guys, then our second place runner, but this year we fared better,” Scheuer said.

On the women’s side, senior Chloe Berlioux finished with a time of 13:52, claiming the individual 4K title on the women’s side. Just like the men’s team, the ladies had two women finish in the top five out of 24 runners, including Berlioux and senior Amanda Garcia, who finished fourth with a time of 14:22.

UC Davis, however, did win the team awards, with 23 points each for the men’s and women’s teams. The Hornets finished with 38 points each on the men’s and women’s sides. For the Aggie women, this marks the ninth straight victory in the team race. For the men, it was their eighth in nine years. They finished second in 2012.

Head coach Laura Harmon was pleased with the team’s overall effort, though she would like to see more from the men’s team outside of the top two runners.

“I think the team competed really well, and I think the first meet is for working some of the kinks out, re-figuring out how fast to go out, where you’re going to be,” Harmon said.

“Our top two [men] were pretty strong up front, but our pack that was behind that, I’d like to see them move up a little bit,” Harmon added. “And as you get into races where there are more bodies, it’ll become more of a reality.”

The Hornets will lace up for their second meet on Friday as they compete in the Fresno State Invitational.