Erdelyi finishes first as USC takes third overall
Senior Zsofia Erdelyi led the USC women’s cross-country team to a third-place finish at Saturday’s Cal State Northridge Invitational by claiming first place overall in the 6K race in Van Nuys, Calif.
Setting the pace · Senior Zsofia Erdelyi finished in first place for USC, which took third place in the Cal State Northridge Invitational. - Photo courtesy of USC Sports Information
Erdelyi’s fifth career first-place finish came in relatively easy fashion, as the senior standout crossed the finish line more than eight seconds ahead of her closest competitor. Erdelyi took the overall lead with just more than a mile to go before cruising the rest of the way.
“It definitely looked pretty easy for her,” USC coach Tom Walsh said. “I was happy with the way she picked it up in the second half of the race and finished strong. There’s definitely more in her than there was at this time last year.”
The race represented a strong team performance by the Women of Troy, as the squad’s second and seventh runners finished only 35 seconds apart. Ironically, Erdelyi was the only runner of those seven for USC who failed to record a personal best time on Saturday.
“I always say you’re only as good as your fifth or sixth runner,” Walsh said. “We wanted to make sure we closed the gaps between our runners and we did a good job of that on Saturday.”
Senior Christine Cortez bested her personal record by 20 seconds and finished second for the Women of Troy and fourth overall. Junior Leah Gaeta followed Cortez with a 12th place finish, with senior Dina Kitayama close behind in 18th place.
Senior Zara Lukens rounded out USC’s scoring runners by finishing 25th overall. Junior Jessica Lundin and sophomore Kelly Owen came in 27th and 33rd, respectively.
Walsh had set a goal for his team to finish in second place at the meet. The Women of Troy fell just short of that goal with 56 points, one more than second-place Cal State Fullerton and 14 more than meet winner UC Riverside.
“That was the only disappointment I had,” Walsh said of the near second-place finish. “It ended up being a matter of one [individual] place. Overall, I thought we competed very well.”
USC will next compete at the Titan Invitational in Fullerton, Calif., before heading north to run in the Pac-10 championships in Seattle, Wash. The Women of Troy’s early-season success has their coach thinking the team could surprise when the runners toe the line in Seattle.
“We’ve had two good races in a row,” Walsh said. “We’re bringing in a lot more momentum to the Pac-10s than we have the past couple of years. We’ve stayed healthy, and that’s given us a chance to be successful.”