SAN MARCOS – Daniel Hernandez edged to his first victory of the season, Dylan White made the podium with a third-place result and Brayden McLaughlin and Damian Garcia made the top 10 as the four helped Chico State's men's cross country team take another first-place finish at Cal State San Marcos' Cougar Invitational on Saturday.
 
Going back to the normal 8K run compared to the 6K in the season-opener two weeks ago, the Wildcats ran a combined time of 2:04.01 on the San Marcos campus. While the 'Cats scored 27 points, they bested Cal Poly Pomona by eight points. Timewise, the Broncos clocked in a 2:04.34.
 
Salt Lake, a non-NCAA member, finished third with 100 points.
 
Hernandez certainly earned the gold medal in today's race. He ran a 24:27.4 while second-place finisher Nathan Dunn, who is unattached, turned in a 24:32.7. White crossed the finish line at 24:45.8 for third place.
 
McLaughlin ran a 24:52.4 for seventh place and Garcia was 1.2 seconds behind him for ninth. In fact, Garcia was only 0.2 seconds behind eighth-place finish Francisco Zavaleta of the Broncos.
 
The Wildcats return to action October 6 for the San Francisco State Invitational held at the iconic Golden Gate Park Speedway Meadow.