CLOVIS, Calif. – FPU cross country teams made their season debut in the Clovis Crush Invitational, with both teams securing a 1^st place finish on Saturday morning. With first-year head coach Landon Miller leading the way, the Sunbirds not only set the pace for the invitational, but set a golden standard for the season.

"Both teams executed their race plans very well today," said head coach Landon Miller. "The athletes have been consistent in their training and doing the little things outside of training well. We are seeing improvements from a great lifting plan from the sports performance coaches and that combined into a positive first showing this season."

In the first race, there was a phenomenal effort on the women's side as multiple Sunbirds hit personal records. Mattie Whipple, Third Team All-PacWest honoree, led the way for the Sunbirds with a first-place finish of 18.34.2. Second Team All-PacWest runner Julissa Avila (18.49.0) trailed close behind Whipple to give FPU the advantage. Aly Chavez and Julia Martinez came in right before the 19-minute mark, contributing to the Sunbird's lead and overall score of 25 points.

On the men's side, several Sunbirds broke ahead to capture the impressive first-place finish. Rodney Chemalmal finished in first with a time of 20:42.9. Returning runners Evan Torres, Sawyer Pugliese, and Daniel Galvez trailed close behind to give the Sunbirds, 47 points overall.

NEXT UP: The Fresno Pacific Cross Country teams compete at The Masters' Invitational on September 20th down in Santa Clarita, California.

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