FRESNO, Calif. – The first race for Jessup University as members of NCAA Division II has come and gone, as the Warriors ran in Saturday's Seawolf Invite. Competing in a field full of DII competition, Jessup got a glimpse of what their new landscape will look like as members of the PacWest.
 
"It was great to be back in uniform and racing again for the first time this year," said head coach Jeff Magley. "It was really fun for the team to be at Woodwork Park, which is a historic cross country course down here."
 
Woodward Park, the host site of Saturday's meet, hosted the 2023 PacWest Championship. It also serves as the home for the CIF Cross Country Championship annually.
 
"It's a very challenging course," added Magley on Saturday's venue. "There are a lot of moving terrain hills, and obviously today was a hot day. It was good to open up in a challenging setting, and to have that to overcome and work through. I'm so proud of the team today."
 
Saturday's field included two opposing schools from the PacWest: Academy of Art and Dominican. Representing the CCAA, California's other DII conference, were Cal State East Bay, Cal State Los Angeles, and CSU Monterey Bay. Simpson and Soka were in the field as NAIA institutions.
 
The day included two races, first being the women's 5k, and then the men competed in a four-mile race.
 
Zachary Heberlein posted Jessup's best time on the men's side, posting a time of 23:44 in his DII debut. Devon Hammeke (25:20), Ethan Loomis (25:31), Antonio Leal (27:16), and Oscar Duncan Jr. (27:46) rounded out the field for the Warriors.
 
For Leal, it was a highlight day as the freshman made his collegiate running debut.
 
Over in the women's 5k, the top time for the Warriors was posted by Elizabeth Caminiti at 21:29. The time is a new PR for Caminit, besting her previous mark from last year's Jessup Invitational by 11 seconds. Cheyenne Ullrich also posted a new PR, as her time of 21:42 was over a 30-second improvement from her mark at the Jessup Invitational as well.
 
It was also a day for debuts on the women's side, as making their collegiate debuts were Tayla Starr (22:15), Jocelyn Pedretti (31:14), and Alexis Housh (31:24). Erica Waseq (30:16) and Jaylee Hameister (30:31) were also in the field, as the two track athletes made their collegiate distance running debuts.
 
On all of the debuts, Magley added, "Hats off to our fourth through seventh runners. That was the first college cross country race for all four of them, and they survived and got some great experience on a tough course. It's something that they can take forward with them."
 
The Warriors will resume the season next weekend as they make their annual visit to Ceres for the Kim Duyst Twilight Invitational. The race will be run under the lights at River Oaks Golf Course.
   
Jessup University is a provisional member of the National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA) Division II and the PacWest Conference. For additional information regarding Jessup Athletics, visit www.jessupathletics.com; visit www.jessup.edu for more information on Jessup University. Follow Jessup Athletics on social media: Jessup University Athletics (Facebook) and @JessupAthletics (Instagram & X).