Results: Women | Men

SAN FRANCISCO – More than 170 Urban Knight Nation faithful seemed to be there at every turn Friday, cheering on Academy of Art University cross country to strong finishes at the SF State Invitational. The women's team, led by sophomore McKaela Christenson's 19th place individual result, took ninth overall. On the men's side, senior Valentin Pepiot placed second, helping ART U earn sixth as a team.

The first race on a sunny afternoon at Golden Gate Park was the women's 6k through Speedway Meadows. Christenson started fast, hanging among the top 20 runners through the two kilometers, and she would remain in the leading group. A final time of 22:31.2 put her 19th as a scoring individual.

Crossing the finish line in 27th, junior Kaelyn Harbison finished at 22:48.5 while junior Emily McCarty delivered a time of 23:12.2 for 41st overall. The Urban Knights' top five was rounded out by sophomore Jamie Morris in 81st (24:41.5) and sophomore Madeline Dignadice in 89th (25:01.8).

The individual winner of the women's race was Sadie Gastelum of Chico State (21:39.3) and it was the Wildcats who prevailed in the team scoring. In ninth overall as a team, Academy of Art bested host SF State, fellow PacWest member Fresno State, and NCAA Division I Santa Clara among others.

In the men's 8k race, Pepiot remained focused at the front of the pack and maintained that placement for the entirety of the competition. His final two kilometers (6:01.73) were his best and helped him finish second of 235 runners with a time of 24:44.3.

Backing up his fellow Frenchman, graduate student Pierre Fontanarosa placed 27th at 25:45.3 while freshman Phillip Kruse came in at 26:23.5 in 4th among scoring individuals. Graduate student Kris Everett was not far behind in 52nd (26:30.2) and sophomore Chris Costa completed the ART U quintet in 63rd (26:42.6).

Only nine seconds ahead of Pepiot, Chico State's William Reyes was the 8k victor at 24:35.2. He and all five scorers in the top eight were the major reason why the Wildcats claimed first as a team. The sixth place result for ART U had them ahead of NCAA DI Santa Clara, Humboldt State, and Fresno Pacific among others.

The fan support continued an annual tradition, marking year three of large contingent out at Golden Gate Park (2014, 2013). ART U has one more tune-up prior to the Pacific West Conference Championships on Oct. 24. Next weekend on Oct. 17, the Knights will be in action at the Bronco Invitational hosted by Santa Clara at Baylands Park.