SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The Sacramento State cross country teams will make their 2020-21 season debut on Saturday at the William Jessup Invitational in Rocklin, Calif. The meet is scheduled to begin at 9:30 a.m. with the women's 5K race and the me's 8K race will get underway at approximately 10:15 a.m. Both races will be closed to spectators.
The Hornets last competed on Nov. 15, 2019 at the NCAA West Regional. This week's meet will be the only competition before Sacramento State returns to the conference championships on Feb. 27 in Riverdale, Utah.
"Our team is thrilled to have the opportunity to compete again after so many cancellations caused by the COVID-19 pandemic," Sacramento State head cross country coach Aaron Braun said. "I want to thank William Jessup for providing this opportunity prior to our Big Sky conference meet at the end of the month. I'm extremely proud of everyone on our roster who has repeatedly showed resilience and support for one another throughout the ups and downs of this past year. We're excited to again represent the Hornet family on Saturday."
The women's team features six returners who all saw action last season. Senior Cagnei Duncan led the Hornets in each meet last season. She finished fourth at the Nevada Twilight Classic and the Santa Clara Bronco Invitational for her top finish. Duncan also narrowly missed earning all-Big Sky honors as she was 12th at the league meet with a 5K time of 18:49.5.
Senior Rachel Victor ranked second on the team in each of her four races in 2019. Fellow juniors Rosemary David and Blayney Dolan each return after appearing in every meet a year ago. Sophomores Ariana Barrett and Marilou Ruiz complete the list of veterans as the pair appeared in five and four meets, respectively.
Sacramento State will welcome four newcomers to the lineup in 2020-21. Hailey Rutter was 19th at the 2019 California State Cross Country Championships while representing Saugus HS. She was 12th at the Southern Section meet and third at the Foothill League finals that same season. Danielle Gee also qualified for the state meet and was a three-time conference champion at Yucaipa HS. Sarah Collier will also debut this season after a successful middle distance high school track career. Local product Kathryn Loken joined the team prior to the spring semester and returns to her hometown after starring at Del Campo HS.
The Sacramento State men's team does not have the luxury as as much returning depth as its female counterpart. Shane Marshall and Jacob Moran are the only two members of the team to compete during the 2019 season. Marshall led the team at the Nevada Twilight Classic and was among the top three of four of the other five meets. Moran competed in five of the six meets and scored for the team in a pair of competitions.
Three true freshmen and a JC transfer will fight for the other spots in the lineup. The trio of freshmen is comprised of Nick Carter, Aiden Maddison and Jacob Polivka. Carter twice appeared at the Foot Locker West Regional and graduated from Clovis North HS. Maddison was a three-time state meet qualifier at St, Francis HS in the Bay Area. Polivka also competed at the state meet and added a second place finish as a sophomore and was third as a junior at the Sierra Foothill League Championships while racing for Rocklin HS.
Ruben Garcia comes to Sacramento State from American River JC where he was seventh at the Big 8 Championships and placed 25th at the state meet in 2019.
