2011 University of San Francisco Cross Country Invitational
Individual & Team Results

Photo Gallery (images by Meg Williams & Austin McKeon)


San Francisco, CA – Opening up the 2011 season in their own backyard, the Academy of Art University men's and women's cross country teams competed in the USF Invitational on Saturday morning at Golden Gate Park. Leading the men's 4th place team finish were seniors Amos Maru and Daveson Marindich who earned 17th and 18th respectively among four-year participants. Paced by junior Kristen Sanzari and her 32nd individual finish, the ART U women's squad took 8th overall.

Maru and Marindich, the tandem who finished first and second at last year's Pacific West Conference Championship, guided the men's team against the country's elite in the 8k race. Just behind a group from Stanford and one from USF, Maru built off his 2010 PacWest Runner of the Year honor with an 17th place result and a time of 25:37. Marindich came through right behind his teammate in 18th overall with a 25:39 mark. As the third Urban Knights finisher, senior Simon Mutai captured 24th (26:42).

“It was a good race for the men as a group,” Head Coach Charles Ryan said. “I thought they ran very well in the opener. All of the guys seemed to be in much better shape compared to last year coming into the season so that's exciting. Jack Nevins ran very well and you can tell he's going to be a major competitor for us when the PacWest Conference race arrives. This year, there were a lot of strong teams in the event like Stanford so while our placement may not have been as high, the quality of opponent was good.”

The fourth qualifier for ART U was freshman Jack Nevins who earned high praise from the coaching staff for his performance. He took 32nd overall with a time of 26:54 on the first 8k run of his career. Crossing the line in 51st place (28:24) was senior Mark Bretan who rounded out the Academy of Art five.

“The biggest highlight for the men was freshman Jack Nevins,” Assistant Coach Ben DeLand said. “He ran as our #4 in his first 8k race ever and I was pretty pleased with his performance. That definitely bodes well for this team's future and the development of the program. In terms of the guys as a whole, it was a good first race to work the kinks out especially for the veterans. We haven't done any serious efforts like this yet so it was good to get the feeling back in the legs. It sets us up for competitive races in the future especially when the results will be particularly important.”

The individual winner of the 8k competition was Brendan Gregg of No. 2 ranked Stanford University. The Cardinal subsequently won the team title as well. In 4th overall as a unit, Academy of Art beat out Division I opponents such as Saint Mary's and Santa Clara.


Leading the ART U women's team was junior Kristen Sanzari who took 32nd overall with a time of 19:47. Sanzari was familiar with the level of competition on this 5k run as she herself comes to Academy of Art from Division I Cal Poly. Senior Stacey Toth followed up her teammate with a career best of 20:22 in 42nd place. The duo held their own against the Division I teams which included No. 7 Stanford, UC Berkeley, USF, and Saint Mary's.

“The women were led up front by Kristen Sanzari, a transfer from Cal Poly,” Coach DeLand said. “She had a good race for us and that was followed up by Stacey Toth who had a big PR. Obviously with this being the first race of season, it was great to have those two up front. For the women's team, we're looking to build on those performances as we progress through the season.”

Sophomore Kylie Long took home 52nd place with a 21:23 performance while sophomore Heather Castro posted a 24:48 mark (57th) in her first race as an Urban Knight. Rounding out the ART U squad was junior Emily Allis who captured 59th place just behind Castro with a time of 24:54.

“The women did well overall,” Coach Ryan said. “Stacey is head and shoulders above where she was last year so that's an exciting prospect for us. Kylie is much improved and Kristen was one of the best runners of the group so that is also a positive. Overall, it was a good opener and the theme of this meet was to serve as a measuring stick and see where everyone is at fitness-wise. And they are definitely above where they were last year.”

Winning the women's 5k race was Kelsey Santisteban of the UC Berkeley team that ran away with the team title.

Academy of Art returns to the course two weeks from now on Saturday, Sept. 17 for the University of Washington's 19th Annual Cross Country Sundodger Invitational. The women toe the line at 11:00 AM and the men will follow at 11:35 AM.