By Vincent Perez 

Assistant Sports Editor

  CSU Bakersfield cross-country leader Angel Valdez has broken her own record time for the second time this season and kept her 6-kilometer CSUB record. 

  On Oct. 14, the senior finished 16th overall in the Bronco 6k Invitational in 20:54.6, in Santa Clara, California. Valdez holds the 4k, 5k and 6k records at CSUB.

  “It was really tough,” said Valdez. “Usually the first mile and half of a race, I feel comfortable. This race, 800 meters in, I felt tired.”

  Valdez said that the poor air quality due to the Northern California wildfires might have affected her performance.

  “Like any sport, you have some days you have to work harder to get things done,” said Valdez. She eclipsed her previous record time of 21:50 at the 2016 NCAA Division I Regional. The 6k race was a hundred miles south of the Northern California wildfires.

  Not far behind Valdez, sophomore Paradise Pelzer, finished 108th overall in 22:31.2. Pelzer is now fourth all-time for the Roadrunners in the 6k.

   “It wasn’t as good as I wanted, but it’s a really big step up from where I was last year. I’m excited about my performance increasing,” said Pelzer.

  The sophomore athlete said that she hasn’t reached where she needs to be yet and has a lot to do. The air quality in Santa Clara affected many runners, as well as Pelzer.

  “Yes, honestly, but I generally have that problem,” Pelzer said. Adding that she does have asthma but takes her inhaler and allergy medicine to meets.  

  Redshirt-freshman Alejandra Frausto, rounded out the top three for Roadrunners, who finished in 22:40.7, nine spots behind Pelzer.

  Frausto said about the 6k race, “That’s probably my best race yet.” She added about the air quality, “It was hard but I felt like we trained so hard that it didn’t really affect me.” Frausto is fifth all-time in the 6k in CSUB history after the Bronco Invitational.

  Sonia Holguin, a redshirt-freshman, finished in 24:55 and sophomore Genesis Medina finished in 26:41. 

  Holguin attended McFarland High School and was conditioned for competitive running. However, the race in Santa Clara was her first 6k. She said, “I really didn’t feel the difference from the 5k.”

  Holguin said about her performance, “I don’t want to say that I did bad because I don’t like to finish my races with a negative attitude. I’ve been trying to keep positive.”

  She said that she didn’t race like she was supposed to, because she didn’t finish under 24 minutes, and was a minute slower of her pace. Director of Track and Field and Cross-Country, Marcia Mansur-Wentworth, said that her performance was good enough for her first 6k, according to Holguin.

  With the WAC Championships and NCAA I Regional coming up, the CSUB athletes talked about their hopes for their performances.

  Pelzer said about the regional, “Last year, I did not do what I wanted to. I know I’m in shape. There’s no reason.” She added that she set her personal record in Santa Clara. “Now, I can do it again? Why not? And in one of the biggest races. That’s amazing.”

  Frausto said about the 5k race at the WAC Championships, she wants to run 18:30 and at the regional, she wants to run 22 flat. Excitement about the last two races is not hard to find in the team.

  Holguin said, “I’m excited. I feel like it’s such a blessing to be in the top 7. There are girls who didn’t get to travel or compete.” She added, “It kind of sucks, but we all have to find our spots and perform.” Times individually affect the overall team score, as only top five score for each team.

  In the Bronco Invitational, the Roadrunners finished 18th out of 21 teams with a combined score of 469. San Jose State finished in first place with 61 points.

The CSUB women’s cross-country team next travels to Englewood, Colorado on Saturday, Oct. 28 for the WAC Championships, followed by the NCAA Division I Regional, Nov. 10 in Seattle, Washington.