The Mustang cross country teams traveled to Fort Lewis College to compete in the Tom Strandt Memorial Run Saturday afternoon and walked away with a third place finish on both the men's and women's side.

On the women's side, Pam Erickson (Golden Valley, AZ) led the way for the Mustangs.  She finished 7th overall, finishing the 5k race with a time of 21:12, 1:18 behind the first place finisher.  Newcomer Cassandra Sanchez (Acoma Pueblo, NM/Laguna Acoma High School) (Acoma Pueblo, NM) came in 10th overall and posted a time of 21:29. 

As a team, Mesa State College finished first on the women's side, followed by Fort Lewis College, WNMU, and then Dine Community College.

Racing on the men's side, the men competed in a 10k race.  Newcomer Paul Gonzalez (West Covina, CA/West Covina High School) (West Covina, CA) was the first purple jersey to come across the finish line.  He had a time of 37:44, good for 7th place.  Another newcomer, freshman Chris Weaver (Gallup, NM), came in 10th.  He recorded a time of 38:25.

Dine Community College came away with the win for the men.  Fort Lewis College finished second, followed by WNMU. 

Both men and women will run again next week.  They will travel to Albuquerque, New Mexico to compete in the Lobo Invitational at the University of New Mexico. 

Click here for complete race results.