In the final cross country meet of the season, the SF State Gators finished with strong performances from their exiting seniors and up and coming freshmen. The Gators hosted the NCAA Division II West Regional's at Speedway meadow in Golden Gate Park Saturday morning, Nov. 7.

The Gators faced top teams from all over the western United States, some traveling as far from Alaska and Hawaii to compete in the race.

The men's squad finished in 11 out of 20 with 314 points in their 10K race.
The women's team kept their results pretty consistent to where they have been all year, finishing 13 out of a possible 24 teams scoring 339 points in their 6K race.

On the men's side, the Gators had strong performances from freshman Brian Trejo, and juniors Ryan Raya and Kyle Fujitsubo, all finishing within a minute of each other in a tight pack. Trejo, Raya and Fujitsubo also placed 48, 49 and 51 out of 131 runners, respectively.

"I think we did well," Trejo, who finished with a time of 33:40.2, said. "It shows we have a lot of potential for next year and I wouldn't be surprised if we finished out in the top 10 in the region for next year."

"We finished where we expected to," Fujitsubo, who finished with a time of 33.51, said. "Brian and Ryan ran great races. I felt slow but we all put it together."

Raya finished second for the Gators, recording a time of 33:40.4. "I felt great -- very strong," Raya said. "The course had fast down hills which made you work even harder for the up hills."

Head Cross Country Coach Tom Lyons was satisfied with the men's performance. "We finished about where we were hoping to finish," he said. "Brian, Kyle and Ryan kept it together and had good days. I was pleased with where the remaining guys finished as well."

The women's top runners were Brittany Garrett and Tanya Ferreira. Garrett finished 34 out of 161 runners with a time of 22:48.6, while Ferreira finished 41 clocking a time of 22:57.6.

"Brittany had the best race she has had at SF State," Pete Cushman, assistant coach, said. "Tanya did it again and was very consistent."

"I felt I did ready good and better than the last race I had here," Garrett, senior, said. "The team did well and it was a beautiful day to run."

Lyons expressed his pride for his senior runner Garrett.

"Brittany finished off her season/career with a fantastic race," he said.

Behind Garrett was Ferreira, the Lady Gator's iron horse for the 2009 season. "I felt OK, I was sick last week so it was a gamble to see how today was going to play out," Ferreira said.

From here, the cross country teams practice for two more weeks. Those who will participate in track and field, will take a week off and then come back to prepare for the track and field season.

Top team honors went to Chico State in the men's competition and Alaska Anchorage took first in the women's race.