2010 Stanford University Cross Country Invitational
Men's Individual & Team Results
Photo Gallery
Palo Alto, CA -- Led by a personal record from junior
Amos Maru, the Academy of Art University men's cross country team took home 18th place at the Stanford University Invitational Saturday morning at the Stanford Golf Course. Running against a field that included the top-ranked team in the country, Stanford, along with #4 Northern Arizona, #15 Arkansas, and UCLA among others, the Urban Knights persevered through injuries and posted impressive performances in the meet.
Throughout the race, Maru kept up with the front of the pack composed of top Division I runners and turned in his best time ever as a Knight on an 8k course with a 24:33 mark. He finished in 31st place among four-year runners, besting the top competitors from UC Davis and Cal Poly. Maru knocked 11 seconds off his previous personal record which he attained last year at the Stanford Invite.
Maru was not the only one to have a strong race Saturday morning. Junior Daveson Marindich came through with a personal record for the Stanford Invite after earning a time of 25:10 en route to his 62nd place individual finish. The Eldoret, Kenya native topped his previous mark on the course by more than 40 seconds and the time was his second best in his ART U career.
Crossing the line third for Academy of Art University was junior Mark Bretan. The Novato, CA native posted a time of 28:11 on the 8k course and took 177th overall among four-year runners. Not far behind him was senior Geoffrey Cheruiyot who captured 182nd with a time of 28:27. Completing the five-some of Urban Knight runners was junior Joey Villasenor. He turned in a 188th place finish and a 29:18 mark.
The individual winner of the Stanford Invitational was David McNeill from Northern Arizona who turned in a time of 23:18 (just 15 seconds behind the course record). However, it was Stanford who captured the team title after their top three runners all crossed at the same time (23:22) to take 2nd through 4th overall. As a team, the Urban Knights finished ahead of SF State, Division I schools Cal State Northridge and Saint Mary's among others.
Two weeks following the Stanford Invite, Academy of Art University will be back in action at the SF State Invitational on Oct. 8. Both the men's and women's teams from ART U are scheduled to compete in the race at Golden Gate Park, beginning with a 10:00 AM start for the men.
