The Chico State men’s cross-country team competed in its second invitational at Stanford on Sept. 26, claiming second place over several Division I and 2 schools. The ‘Cats finished with a five point margin between them and the first place school, Stanford.

Stanford finished the race with a point total of 63, compared to Chico State’s total of 68. The five point margin is the smallest Chico State has obtained in the 42 years of the race’s history.

Will Reyes carried the team with an incredible performance, managing to finish the race in third place with a time of 23:36. Reyes was able to finish the eight kilometer course with an average pace of 4:45 per mile, one of the fastest times ever recorded for Chico State at the Stanford Invitational.

Coming in 11th place was Steven Martinez, followed by Falco DiGiallonardo in 14th and Kyle Medina at 21st. Connor Fisher wrapped up the Wildcats’ scoring, coming in at 27th.

The Wildcats also participated in the Garin Park Challenge in Hayward, California. With a different group on Sept. 26, Caton Avilla missed the course record by just three seconds, finishing the 3.15 mile race in 15:23. Derek Morton finished close behind in fourth, followed by Steven Velarde in fifth and Andrew Cobourn in ninth. All three of the ‘Cats were top-10 finishers.

The ‘Cats look to continue their success for their next meet at the San Francisco Invitational at Golden Gate Park on Oct. 9, which will wrap up the regular 2015 season.

Kenta McAfee can be reached at [email protected] or @kentamcafee on Twitter.