Pingleton Leads Team to Third Place at GSAC Championships
Santa Clarita, CA- The cross-country team traveled to Santa Clarita, CA for the GSAC Cross Country Championships on Friday afternoon held at Central Park. Leading the way for the Firestorm was junior Braxton Pingleton who finished 23rd overall in a time of 26:19. Though 23rd overall, Pingleton was the 15th place point scorer in the meet which means he will represent the team and the GSAC Conference at the NAIA National Championships on Friday November 20.
Also turning in a strong performance was junior Peter Brown who battled injuries much of the season and even missed the teams final regular season race before running the second fastest time on the team with a 26:49. He was followed closely behind by sophomores John-Gabriel Lofredo and Josue Gudina who finished 30th and 32nd respectively running 27:28 and 27:30.
Thoughts from Head Coach Brent Fahsholz
“Really excited for Braxton earning his first trip to the national championships. He has led by word and example how to put in the mileage it takes to get to the next level. And as much as Braxton led through health, Peter Brown led through adversity. He started the season coming back from injury, and then had a late season set back which put in doubt what he would be capable of doing today. He could not run the miles he would have liked, but he kept showing up and doing what he could do to stay ready. Lastly, I got to say we have a big group of freshmen and sophomores who all made a big jump this season, and I am really excited to watch their continued development this spring.”
Event Details
Invitational: Men’s 8K
Team Finish: 3rd of 8 Teams
Number of runners: 75
Location: Central Park (Santa Clarita, CA)
Next On the Schedule
Friday November 20, the NAIA Cross Country National Championships will be held at Fort Vancouver National Historic Site in Vancouver, WA. Qualifiers will be announced on Monday November 9.
Roll Storm!
