By Mohamed Bafakih (@Moe_Fresco):
It took nearly 24 hours for Jennifer Sandoval to find out she was the Spartan Athlete of the Month in September.
That’s because her teammates Adilene Aldapa and Jeanette Zambrano have pushed her from the start of her award-winning month and till now, mid-October. This feat has made it an accomplishment for all three cross country runners.
Through four meets, only 28.7 combined seconds have separated Sandoval from the next SJSU finisher which has been Aldapa. Then, it’s Zambrano closing in as 30.2 seconds have separated her from Aldapa.
“Having Jeanette and Adi [Adilene] up there with me just makes us a better team,” Sandoval said. “Last year there was a big spread, but this year it’s a lot closer and we’re able to compete with other big conferences.”
Last season, Sandoval’s freshman year and Aldapa’s and Zambrano’s sophomore years, the team didn’t see a finish better than fourth place during invitationals.
Aldapa, who battled injuries last year, said the biggest improvement has been maintaining stability.
“We’ve struggled to find the right team dynamic and get everyone where they need to be at the right time… so it’s kind of nice to see it falling into place,” Aldapa said
Within the past month and a half, the trio has served as a triple-threat leading the Spartans to three consecutive event victories.
Previously, it took SJSU six years to accumulate three first-place team wins.
The Southern California natives began their run at the Fresno Invitational on Sept. 9 where they swept the podium. Standing side-by-side-by-side, Zambrano said that moment was very exciting because head coach Brad Wick wanted them to stay together and to treat it as a tempo.
The tempo then continued at the Capital Cross Challenge in Sacramento on Sept. 30, where all three runners had top-five finishes in the 6k race. Sandoval came in second with a time of 20 minutes and 30 seconds, Aldapa finished a second later for third, while Zambrano took fifth en route to a 20-point margin over second-place Mountain West foe Nevada.
Wick, who served as an assistant in 2013 before taking over as head coach for both the men’s and women’s cross country teams in 2016, said the Capital Cross Challenge was the turning point for the program.
“The field has been bigger; 20-plus schools (that) weekend, so to see three of our ladies in the top five is a statement for them,” Wick said. “We have enough depth to have a good team finish… it’s been a few years coming.”
Sandoval fell seven seconds short of Loyola Marymount’s Danielle Shanahan who Sandoval expected a rematch with at the Bronco Invitational on Oct. 14.
Shanahan wasn’t there however, and Sandoval set the pace following a week of training that was interrupted with poor air quality stemming from the North Bay fires.
“After the mile, no one showed up,” Sandoval said. “So I said, ‘I’m gonna take this, I’m gonna do this.”
The Spartans as a team have taken it to their opponents, and largely with the consistency that is pivotal as the Mountain West Championship nears.
SJSU finished eighth out of 11 teams at last year’s conference meet, with Sandoval finishing 22nd, Zambrano in 32nd and Aldapa in 68th.
Expectations are higher this year with all the success the Spartans have endured in the regular season, but Wick knows their top-tier finishes result from perseverance.
“They’re just getting confirmed that their hard work is paying off and it’s exciting,” Wick said. “They’re running well because they’re in extremely good shape, but they’re definitely saving the best for the end of the season.”