The CSUSM cross country team battled to a strong finish at their conference championships on Oct. 25 in San Francisco where six of its athletes finished in the top 20.

The Cougars made their first appearance in the California Collegiate Athletic Association’s Championships at Golden Gate Park Sunday morning.

Natalie Rodriguez finished fifth overall in the 6K with a time of 21:39.3.

It is a big victory for the sophomore who recently returned from a three-week hiatus due to a knee injury.

“I really didn’t expect to be a very top finisher,” said Rodriguez. “Coach was right. I bounced back into it really quick.”

Rodriguez’ excitement from her own victory quickly carried over into celebration for her teammates.

“Once I crossed the finish line, I turned back to see [the girls finish],” said Rodriguez. “It was great to see that my training partner and my roommate [junior Terra McGinnis] did so well.”

Both Rodriguez and McGinnis join redshirt junior Aholibama Velazquez as the first women from CSUSM to earn All-CCAA honors.

Head Coach Steve Scott was particularly pleased with Velazquez’ race. “There’s always someone that comes up with a performance of their life when we need it,” said Scott.

Seven of the ten women who raced this weekend recorded lifetime bests.

The women crossing the finish line, many with personal records, is a feat Assistant Coach Paige Mills relishes.

“I’ll never forget that moment. It was really awesome. It was like everything else was in a blur and it was just us, San Marcos, and we knew what we did,” Mills said.

On the men’s side, Scott singled out Zach Laurenzana for his lifetime best of 25:20.6 in the 8K.

Trent Warren, the CSUSM top men’s finisher, said “Zach, especially had the race of his career…he held on tough.”

Warren, a transfer from the University of Oregon finished with a time of 25:17.5.

The top three men, Warren, Laurenzana, and Steven Terris finished 16th, 17th, and 18th. The three just barely missed All-CCAA honors.

“We really pushed each other as a team,” Warren said.

The goal for next season is simple. Improve. “The women could win it [all]”, said Scott.

Despite six of the top ten male runners graduating, Scott believes they will be able to pull off a third place finish next year when they compete in the CCAA Championships at Pomona.