2012 University of San Francisco Cross Country Invitational Men's Results

2012 University of San Francisco Cross Country Invitational Women's Results

Photo Gallery (images by Rob Garcia)

San Francisco, CA -- The Academy of Art University cross country team went to work Saturday, opening its first season in the NCAA at the 20th Annual University of San Francisco Invitational. Covering a 5k women's race and 8k men's course through Golden Gate Park, the Urban Knights were led by many new faces including senior Jenny Bergren, the 5th place finisher overall, for the 8th place women and freshman Clemens Kammer, who came out strong in his first career 8k and took 17th individually for the 14th place men.

“We're really getting a sense of where everyone's at [with this race] so I think some people had better days than others, but what we're really taking away is the feeling of what the 8k is like for the men and what college running is like for some of the freshmen,” assistant coach Torrey Olson said. “That's huge so now we can take that and use it in training.”

Pacing the ART U women's team and hanging with several of the top runners in the country from Cal and No. 20 ranked Stanford throughout, Bergren did not miss a beat in this race which was her first 5k in a year's time. The Knights' transfer from Division I Cal Poly closed strong to capture a 17:48.5 mark, besting several Cardinal and Golden Bear competitors in addition to the top finisher from USF (ranked No. 5 in West Region). The 5th place result was the best by any Urban Knight at the USF Invitational in program history.

“Jenny Bergren had an awesome day,” Coach Olson said. “Today, I told her that there was a bracket of my top end of what I thought she could do today and the bottom end and she was right up at the top. And that's awesome because in terms of the field of women she was up there competing with, she was very good. I'm really excited to see what she can do because she's still on the upswing.”

Backing up Bergren was another graduate student who transferred to Academy of Art University this fall. Zoë Meyers, who completed her undergrad at Pomona College, took 25th overall with an 18:50.7 time, edging out runners from UC Santa Cruz, Cal State Monterey Bay, and a trio from Cal State Stanislaus.

“I was really impressed with the women's team,” head coach Charles Ryan said. “This is by far the best women's team we've ever had here. Jenny and Zoë did a phenomenal job leading the pack. Jenny finished 5th overall which, at a meet like this where you've got Cal and Stanford, is really impressive.”

“Zoë hasn't raced in a long time either so this was a 'rust buster,' but she competed hard,” Coach Olson said. “With the women for the most part, people were digging in and competing so that's a good start.”

In ART U's third spot, senior Cassandra Schumacher made her return in the red and black to finish at 19:59.2. Her 66th place result pushed her past a pair from University of the Pacific. The fourth Academy of Art University finisher was freshman Arianna Michaels in at 19:07.1 with a 39th place result. Rounding out the Urban Knights' top five was junior Heather Castro who came in at 22:14 and 105th overall.

“We're glad to have Cassandra back," Coach Ryan said. "I thought she opened her season very strongly. And our freshman Arianna Michaels did a phenomenal job so we're going to be in a very good place come time for our conference meet at the end of the year.”

The Academy of Art University women showed they can hang with strong Division I programs, placing 8th behind San Jose State (7th) and ahead of University of the Pacific (9th).

On the men's side, the aforementioned Clemens Kammer had an impressive first showing with a 25:51 mark on the 8k course good for 17th overall. Kammer, a native of Germany, was supported by sophomore Jack Nevins who crossed the finish line in 23rd place at 26:24. Nevins' time, a personal record for him on USF's course, was less than two seconds off his lifetime best which came last season at the Pacific West Conference Championships.

“I thought Jack and Clemens ran really well and had impressive openers," Coach Ryan said. "We're a little thin on the men's side this year, but the men's team gave great effort. I couldn't be happier with the job Torrey and the volunteer assistants are doing. The kids are fit, they're excited, and it's a good team unit so we'll hopefully keep that momentum and keep moving forward.”

The third Academy of Art University men's finisher was sophomore Temarius Walker who came in at 30:07 in 90th place overall. Close on Walker's heels was sophomore Thomas Benson who took 99th with a time of 31:02. Junior Stephen Peevy, another first time runner on an 8k course, picked up 110th (41:05).

The ART U men placed 14th overall in the team competition and topped fellow PacWest opponents Dominican and Notre Dame de Namur in the process.

The Urban Knights are scheduled to be in action next weekend for the Hornet Jamboree hosted by Sacramento State on Sept. 8.