Clovis, Calif. – The William Jessup University cross country team opened the season at the Fresno State University Invitational at Woodward Park in Clovis.  Besides Fresno State, the field included other top NCAA DI programs from Cal Ploy San Luis Obispo, San Jose State, Cal State Fullerton, Cal State Bakersfield and Fellow California Pacific Conference member UC Merced.

Senior Wayne Smith led the Warriors to a fifth place finish with 132 points, while Cal Poly took home first place in the four mile race.  Smith finished 31^st out of 61 runners with a time of 21:07.2.  Sophomore Michael Basuini finished with a strong time of 21:31.8 to finish 37^th.  Fellow sophomore Christian Wichmann was two seconds behind Basuini to finish in 38^th place.  Senior David Cummings crossed the line in 44^th place with a time of 22:17.00.

On the women's side, senior Hannah Weisner led the Warriors to a sixth place finish with 170 points, while Cal Poly also brought home the women's team title in the 5k race.  Weisner finished 35 out of 65 runners with a time of 20:56.10.  Sophomore Allyson Richmond had one of the stronger races of her career with a time of 21:54 to finish in 47^th place.  Sophomore Miranda Keiser crossed the line in 51^st pace with a time of 23:50.10, while senior Megan Crutchfield finish in 56^th place with a  time of 24:26.90.

Coach Parker Daniells was happy with the Warriors first meet.

"This is a great start for us," stated Coach Daniells.  "Now we know where we are and we can begin the process to grow each week.  Smith and Weisner set the bar high and I know they will only get better.  We look forward to returning to Woodward Park for the Cal Pac Championships."

The Warriors return to action on Saturday September 28^th in the Stanford Invitational.

HOBOKEN, N.J.  The Stevens Institute of Technology Department of Athletics is celebrating Division III Week April 7-13, 2014 on and around our Hoboken campus.