SAN FRANCISCO – Sitting 11th after the opening third of the race, UC Davis men's cross country used the final parts of its 8k to power themselves up nine spots to post a second-place finish, while the women had a strong showing to finish 5th at the season opening USF Invitational.
 
ON THE COURSE (MEN'S 8K)

• Ethan Brooks, Chris Coles and Muhammed Ahmed ran together for the entirety of the race, and the Aggie Pack mentality paid off as three finished 17th, 18th and 19th respectively to give the Aggie men their highest scorers
• Each split saw the Aggie trio move up the standings, going from as low as 77th to the finishing three spots inside the top 20 as they powered the Aggies from 11th to second over the final 6k of the 8k race
• Chance Tokubo (29th) and Frank Ramisch (30th) rounded out the Aggie scorers
• The second-place finish put the Aggies ahead of P4 programs such as California and Stanford and they bested future Mountain West foe Nevada by three spots

ON THE COURSE (WOMEN'S 6K)

• Much like the men, the Aggie women erased a deficit over the final part of their race going from seventh after the opening 2k split to take over and hold fifth-place over the final 4k
• Fiona McGrath led the way for the Aggies crossing the line in 14th-place, using a strong kick at the end to maintain her spot ahead of the closest runner from Stanford
• Peyton Adams, in her first collegiate race, gave the Aggies a second top 25 finish ending her race in 21st, storming back from 36th after the opening split
• Kayla Rutz (37th), Kayla Towne (42nd) and Lauren Villegas (46th) rounded out the Aggie scorers

AGGIE PERSONAL RECORDS

• Frank Ramisch (M) – 25:22.8
• Tanner Gray (M) – 25:31.3
• Peyton Adams (W) – 21:54.5
• Hannah Aguirre (W) – 23:02.2

UC DAVIS RESULTS
USF Invitational (Aug. 29)
San Francisco, Calif.
 
WOMEN (6K)
(1. Anna Buettner, USF, 20:27.8); 14. Fiona McGrath, 21:33.2; 21. Peyton Adams, 21:54.5; 37. Kayla Rutz, 22:18.1; 42. Kayla Towne, 22:28.7; 46. Lauren Villegas, 22:34.5; 52. Brooke Butler, 22:41.8; 60. Cassidy Kajita, 22:53.4; 64. Hannah Aguirre, 23:02.2; 67. Kiah Aitken, 23:06.1; 84. Angelina Valladares, 23:37.8; 93. Emily Allison, 23:55.8
 
MEN (8K)
(1. Justin Pretre, California, 24:09.8); 17. Ethan Brooks, 25:10.6; 18. Chris Coles, 25:10.7; 19. Muhammed Ahmed, 25:10.7; 29. Chance Tokubo, 25:20.7; 30, Frank Ramisch, 25:22.8; 45. Tanner Gary, 25:31.3; 52. Zachary Graeber, 25:39.4; 92. Lucas Tam, 26:43.0; Nick Herrmann (DNF)
 
UP NEXT FOR THE AGGIES: UC Davis cross country next heads to Ceres, Calif., for the Kim Duyst Twilight Invitational hosted under the lights by Stanislas State with that race set to go on Sept. 13.