Women take third, Men place sixth at UIW Invitational

SAN ANTONIO — The UTSA cross country teams opened up the 2023 season at the UIW Invitational as the women’s team took a third place finish and the men’s team finished in sixth on Saturday morning at Windcrest Golf Club.

The men’s 8000-meter run opened up the meet at 8 am. OJ Ruiz paced the Roadrunners as he finished in 17th place with a time of 25:33.5, leading UTSA to a sixth place finish. Colton Stunkard finished in 22^nd place with a time of 25:47.6, while Idol Ramon followed shortly behind at 25:56.6 for 23^rd place.

Adrian Orozco rounded out the top-50 individual finishers, crossing the finish line in 49^th with a time of 26:42.9. Landon Blankenship (72^nd, 27:36.1), Gabe Hernandez (81^st, 28:06.5) and Dominick Landin (98^th, 29:22.8) were the final three UTSA runners to score in the meet.

The women’s 6000-meter race started shortly after at 8:40 am. In their collegiate debut, the freshman twin duo of Melody and Marissa Espinoza led the Roadrunners to a third place team finish. Melody Espinoza led the pack with a seventh place finish and a time of 22:13.5, while Marissa Espinoza crossed the finish line in 22:52.4 to take 16^thplace.  

All seven scoring runners finished in the faster half of the 87 competing individuals. Taylor Cochran took 28^th with a time of 23:23.1, while Jadelyn Malesich (32^nd, 23:37.5) and Brooke Veltman (33^rd, 23:38.9) followed shortly behind. Itzel Rojo logged a time of 23:51.3 for 38^th place, while Luzaan de Wit was the final Roadrunner to score in 43^rd place and a time of 24:03.5.

Three more Roadrunners competed on the women’s side to complete a team of 10 runners. Sidney Bravo crossed the finish line at 24:23.1 to take 53^rd, followed by Savannah Lopez (64^th, 24:51.9) and Maggie Lowry (82^nd, 26:36.4).

The Roadrunners head to Salem, Oregon, on Sept. 30 to race in the Willamette Invitational, hosted by Willamette University, before returning to the Lone Star State on Oct. 13 to compete in Texas A&M’s Arturo Barrios Invitational.

 

UTSA Results

Men (6th/161)

17	OJ Ruiz	25:33.5
22	Colton Stunkard	25:47.6
23	Idol Ramon	25:56.6
49	Adrian Orozco	26:42.9
72	Landon Blankenship	27:36.1
81	Gabe Hernandez	28:06.5
98	Dominick Landin	29:22.8

 

Women (3rd/114)

7	Melody Espinoza	22:13.5
16	Marissa Espinoza	22:52.4
28	Taylor Cochran	23:23.1
32	Jadelyn Malesich	23:37.5
33	Brooke Veltman	23:38.9
38	Itzel Rojo	23:51.3
43	Luzaan de Wit	24:03.5
53	Sidney Bravo	24:23.1
64	Savannah Lopez	24:51.9
82	Maggie Lowry	26:36.4

 

-UTSA-