CSUN Places 15th in Women’s Meet

The Cal Poly San Luis Obispo cross-country invitational Saturday confirmed 2 theories of Cal State Northridge Coach Don Strametz.

First, the Lady Matadors have a good chance to place in the top 4 at the NCAA Division II West regionals in 3 weeks--thereby qualifying for the Division II championships. Second, the Matador men’s team will be hard pressed to place in the top 4.

With Saturday’s meet serving as a preview to the West regionals, Northridge placed 15th in the women’s invitational race with 425 points.

Led by Gina Jarequi’s 55th-place finish, Northridge posted the fourth-best score among Division II teams. Jarequi ran 18 minutes, 52 seconds over the 5,000-meter course.

Strametz entered sophomore Jorge Castro and senior Reggie Dechard in the invitational race. Castro ran 25:59 over the 5-mile course to place 59th. Dechard placed 72nd (26:15) after falling early in the race.