Men’s cross country: Jones wins Vanguard Invitational

COSTA MESA - Vanguard University junior Robbie Jones picked up the

pace in the final two hundred meters to break away from Alliant

International’s Thomas Jodoin and won the individual men’s title at the

Vanguard Invitational Saturday at Fairvew Park.

Jones finished with a 26:43 championship mark, the lowest time for a

Vanguard men’s runner on the 8,000-meter course, beating Jodoin by 15

seconds.

Alliant claimed the next four places and six of the top ten marks to

register a minimal 21 points and defeated the Lions for the team title by

16 points.

Vanguard’s Steve Lalim, finishing in 27:50, squeezed in between AIU

runners for a sixth-place finish.

Lions David Johnson, Kyle Kahl, John Bensen and John Nelson packed

together for 12th-, 13th-, 15th-, and 16th-place finishes to help

Vanguard take second place as a team.

VANGUARD UNIVERSITY INVITATIONAL

Team - 1. Alliant International, 21; 2. Vanguard, 37; 3. Christian

Heritage, 75.

Individual - 1. Jones (V), 26:43; 2. Jodoin (A), 26:58; 3. Hymas (A),

27:09; 4. Lewis (A), 27:26; 5. Mejia (A), 27:40; 6. Lalim (V), 27:50; 7.

Torres (Unattached), 28:02; 8. Luvian (A), 28:10; 9. Tsukano (A), 28:32;

10. Dedmon (Biola), 28:37. 12 Johnson (V), 19:25; 13. Kahl (V), 29:57;

15. Bensen (V), 20:36; 16. Nelson (V), 31:07.