Cross Country Programs Make Big Strides in 2017

The Cal Pac Conference Cross Country Chapionship were held last weekend, and the Cal Maritime Men's team finished 4th among the Cal Pac field of 11. Goody Walowit (JR/South Lake Tahoe) once again lead all Keelhaulers finishing in 28:12.9 which was good for 18th among all runners.

At the championship Tom Clay (FR/San Marcos, CA) again set a personal best running the race in 29:46.6.

Seniors Alfonso Gonzalez (SR/Tracy, CA), PJ Jaarsma (SR/San Marcos, CA), and Jacob Jagelski (SR/Los Gatos, CA) all ran their last race for Cal Cal Maritime, and coach Jeff Ward was very thankful for what his senior class contributed to the program.

"I am very proud of this group," Ward said. "In cross country, as in life, we get to define what success means to us. This team worked very hard, displayed great sportsmanship, had great chemistry with each other, and enjoyed the process. They made our program better, so for me it was a successful season."

Jagelski's final race time was 29:33.6 good for second among the Keelhaulers, Jaarsma came in at 30:19.5, and Gonzalez finished at 32:54.7.

Cal Maritime's highest finish at the Cal Pac Conference Championship was third, as the Keelhaulers came up just short of matching their best finish.

"Looking to next year we've got some interested potential recruits to add to the great freshman class we had this year," Ward said. "We'll continue with the process and continue to evolve as a program."

Ward feels that program's evolution is hitting its stride.

"We're getting more familiar with the courses we're running, and we improved our individual and team times," Ward said. "That was a winning season to me. We'll continue to raise the standards and exceed what we've done this year."

On the women's side Lauren Silva led all Keelhaulers with a time of 23:33.9. Sabrina Brown completed her final race for Cal Maritime in 26:56.1. Dani Young, a former tennis player at Eastern Washington University finished up her eligibility and came in at 25:19.7 in her final race.

"We continue to make progress with the women's team," Ward said. "Our focus has consistently been on effort and the enjoying the experience. I think we managed to do both very well. I'm looking forward to seeing what this team can accomplish next year."

The women's team finished eighth among the nine women's teams competing.