The UCSB men’s and women’s cross country teams competed in their final team race of the season at the NCAA West Regionals hosted by the University of Washington. The teams raced on a cold and windy course at Chambers Creek, which was the site of the PGA Open a few years back.
The women raced first on a 6K course against some of the top teams in the NCAA. The team held their own in such a competitive field, finishing in 17th out of 35 teams. The UCSB women’s team moved up 10 spots since last year’s race with the top five runners all finishing under 21 minutes. The Gauchos’ top finisher came in 82nd out of 249 runners was Shelby Nelson. The junior from Alameda finished the race with a time 20:42.2 to help her team in this race.
Coming up close behind her was freshman Ava Maier who came across the finish line at 20:44.0 while senior Sarah Chaves ran a 20:45.4. Rounding out the top five for UCSB were juniors Stina Johansson and Lauren Lum, who earned times of 20:49.7 and 20:56.2, respectively.
On the men’s side, the team came out of the race in 15th out of 31 teams on this 10K course, putting them in the Top 15 across the region. Freshman Ethan Godsey continued his phenomenal freshman season as the first Gaucho across the finish line. The Agoura native ran a time of 30:07.9 for an 80th-place finish. Following up behind him was Gus Marshall, who ended the race with a time of 30:20.8.
Grabbing the third scoring spot for the Gauchos was senior Brandon Cobian who finished this race with a time of 30:31.8. The remaining two runners to come across the finish line for UC Santa Barbara were Esteban Magana and Preston Bowlds. The junior came across the finish line at 30:39.9 while the freshman ran a 30:50.3.
With this race, the men’s and women’s teams conclude the 2022 season. Most of these athletes will be back in action for the track and field season. The Gauchos’ schedule will be released in the coming weeks.
Kristen Keller is the associate athletic director for communications and digital strategy at UCSB.
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