Women's Cross Country | November 08, 2014

COMPLETE MEN'S RESULTS  |  COMPLETE WOMEN'S RESULTS


SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. — Like a distance running Captain Kirk, Cal State Monterey Bay junior Hannah Bell (Yorba Linda/Esperanza HS) continues to go where no Otter runner has gone before. Saturday, Bell earned the highest conference finish in CSUMB men's or women's cross country history, finishing fourth to lead the Otters at the 2014 CCAA Cross Country Championship Meet.

Bell, who became the first Otter harrier to earn All–CCAA laurels when she finished 14th last season, repeated that feat in even more impressive fashion this time. Not only did she finish just 10 seconds off the pace set by champion Kori Gilley of Humboldt State, but two of the three runners who finished ahead of her are seniors, making Bell an instant title contender for 2015.

Her time of 22:39.2 was actually her slowest of the season, but very competitive in the unseasonably warm conditions at the Cal State San Bernardino campus 6K course.

"The conditions were far from ideal today, but Hannah still moved up 10 spots from last season," said CSUMB Head Coach Greg Rhines (@gdrhines). "It was a great improvement for her."

Sophomore Jessica McIntyre (Los Alamitos HS) was the only other Otter woman to finish in the top half of the field, placing 37th in 23:52.7. As a team the women finished ninth overall, just 11 points back of Cal State L.A. Chico State won the women's team title.

On the men's side, it was heartbreak once again for Otter senior Ben Garland (Santa Cruz/Harbor HS), who for the second consecutive season narrowly missed a spot on the All–CCAA team. Last season, Garland finished 16th, just 2.1 seconds out of All–CCAA range. Saturday, he placed 18th, missing an All–CCAA award by just 11 seconds.

Junior Daniel Metzger (Reno, Nev./Galena HS) was CSUMB's second finisher, placing 38th overall in 26:50.2. Sophomore Connor Henderson (South Lake Tahoe HS), the 2013 CCAA freshman of the year, finished 41st in 27:01.9.

Caton Avilla (Wilton/Pleasant Grove HS) finished sixth among all freshmen despite competing in the difficult conditions while under the weather.

The Otter men finished seventh overall, trailing sixth–place Cal State L.A. by just nine points. Chico State captured five of the top nine places to win the team title.

"Everybody gave their all out there today. That's all I can ever ask for," said Rhines. "Now we get a week off to train, to reload the guns and to go after it up in Montana."

The Otters will take next weekend off before heading to Big Sky Country for the NCAA Division II West Regional Championships Nov. 22 in Billings, Mont.