Santa Clarita, CA- The cross country team traveled west to compete in the 14^th Annual Master's Invitational hosted at Central Park in Santa Clarita, CA.  The meet featured NAIA, NCAA, and NJCAA schools, and was the first opportunity for the team to race on the course they will compete on for the GSAC Championships in November.

Leading the way for the Firestorm men was junior Braxton Pingleton who broke the 26:00 barrier for the first time in his career when he finished at 25:58.3.  Fellow junior Peter Brown continued his return to racing form by tying his previous course best with a time of 26:02.5.  Junior transfer Nicholas Hiser ran his best race of the season with a time of 27:02 to finish #3 in team point scoring.  Rounding out the top five was sophomore's John-Gabriel Lofredo (27:47) and Wayne Shuman (28:15).

Thoughts from Coach Fahsholz
"Braxton, Peter and Nick ran strong races today.  They all gave season best efforts, and what's exciting is that we know they can still run faster.  First things first though and breaking 26:00 for the first time is a great steppingstone for Braxton.  Wayne and Josue are progressing well on their return from injuries early in the season, and I feel like they are on track to have their best races when we need them most.  I also must give attention to Stephan, Lonato and Mario who have not merely run personal bests in every race this year but smashed their previous bests in the process.  A lot of hard work went into the result, and their performances have positive effects for team members running ahead of them as well as behind.

Event Details
Invitational: Men's 8K
Team Finish: 12^th of 22 Teams
Number of runners: 219
Location: Central Park (Santa Clarita, CA)

GSAC Team Finishes of 22 Team 
1^st The Master's
Team Points - 32
Team Time - 2:04.29
2^nd Embry-Riddle
Team Points - 38
Team Time - 2:04.41
11^th Arizona Christian
Team Points - 325
Team Time - 2:15.05
19^th Nevada State
Team Points - 596
Team Time - 2:32.03
22^nd Soka
Team Points - 645
Team Time - 2:43.42
- Hope International
Incomplete Team
- OUAZ
Incomplete Team
 
Individual Finishes
Braxton Pingleton
Time – 25:58 *Lifetime Best
Place – 42^nd
Peter Brown
Time – 26:02
Place – 48^th
Nicholas Hiser
Time – 27:02
Place – 99^th
John-Gabriel Lofredo
Time – 27:47
Place – 126^th
Wayne Shuman
Time – 28:15
Place – 141^st
Josue Gudina
Time – 29:37
Place – 154^th
Stephan Tinsley
Time – 29:32 *Lifetime Best
Place – 177^th
Lonato Tsinnijinnie
Time – 30:07 *Lifetime Best
Place – 187^th
Mario Contreras
Time – 31:00 *Lifetime Best
Place – 197^th
Ezra Zufelt
Time – 31:32
Place – 200^th
Gabriel Mendez
Time – 31:50
Place – 203^rd
 
 Next On the Schedule
The team will take next weekend off before travelling to Riverside, CA for the Highlander Classic hosted by UC-Riverside.  Start times will depend on whether each team is placed in the Invite or Open Sections.  Men's & Women's Invite begins at 8:00am & 8:40am.  The Men's & Women's Open begins at 9:10am & 9:50am.                                    

Roll Storm!