The Long Beach State women’s cross country team ran away with the team title at the Fullerton Season Opener at Carbon Canyon Park on Saturday morning. LBSU finished with a total of 82 points, four points ahead of second place Cal Coast and 42 points ahead of tournament host Cal State Fullerton. The 49er men finished in second with 62 points, just five points short of the Titans.

Senior Sarah Apgar led the 49ers as she finished in third with a time of 18:14, just five seconds behind of second place Vivien Wadeck of Cal State L.A. and 16 seconds behind first place Julie Swail of Cal Coast. Fellow seniors Carly Harris (9th; 18:34), Kristina Wilson (12th; 18:41) and Missy Barclay (32nd; 19:26) also had impressive finishes as well as freshman Stacy Flores (Buena Park) as she made her 49er debut finishing in 38th with a time of 19:41.

For the men, freshman Matt Maldonado (Modesto) was the top 49er as he finished in sixth with a time of 26:37. Sophomore Mark Thomas finished in 12th (26:54) and Josh Ruff in 16th (26:58). Steven DeCastro who competed as an unattached runner, finished in 13th (26:58) and Jacob Ainsworth came in 36th.

“We had great contributions and combinations of everyone running in uniform and unattached that all had great races today,” said second year distance coach Patrick Cunniff. “We’re really excited to get the season started and look forward of getting better as the season moves along.”

The 49ers are next in action when they travel to San Diego for the Aztec Invitational on Saturday, Sept. 13, in Balboa Park.