2024 Men's and Women's Cross Country - Season Summary

LOS ANGELES -- Cal State LA's men's and women's cross country teams showed some admirable growth during a challenging 2024 season.

Both teams had increased participation and the teams battled admirably throughout the season that featured improved showings at the California Collegiate Athletic Association Championships and NCAA Division II West Regional.

The highlight of the season came off the course, where Damian Bonds became the program's first-ever Elite 13 Award winner for academic success. That award goes to the competitor with the highest grade point average at the conference championship site.

Christian Perez, who was the team's No. 2 runner for most of the season, had the Golden Eagles' top performance in the final meet of the year, the NCAA West Regionl. He finished 131st overall with a time of 34:37.25 over 10,000 meters. The sophomore improved his placing and times in his second season with the program.

Perez was 50th in the CCAA Championships with a time of 26:21.6 over an 8,000-meter course at Woodward Park in Fresno. He had a best finish of 35th at the Seawolf Invitational.

Junior Ezequiel Soto was the team's No. 1 runner over the first five meets of the season. He was 32nd in the CCAA Championships in his final meet of the season. He had a best finish of 11th at the Seawolf Invitational and was 16th at the Biola Invitational.

Junior David Rush had another consistent season for the Golden Eagles and competed in all six races. He improved his finish at the CCAA Championships to 55th with a time of 26:39.0 and he was the team's No. 2 runner at the West Regional with a 135th place finish and a time of 34:53.12. 

Miguel Morales-Lopez was another who competed in all six races and he was regularly in the top-five for Cal State LA. He was 63rd at the conference championships and 139th at the West Regional. Freshman Nicholas Delgado was a top newcomer to the program and was also a top-five competitor. He was 69th at the conference championships and 144th at the West Regional.

The Bonds brothers were steadying forces for the Golden Eagles and key members of the team once again. David Bonds competed in all six meets, while Damian Bonds ran in five of the six. David Bonds was 73rd in the conference championships, one spot ahead of his younger brother.

Newcomer Trent Osburn ran in five of the six meets for the Golden Eagles in 2024 and was 75th in the conference championships.

The women, meanwhile, were led by Nelly Garnica, who was the team's No. 1 runner in all six meets. She showed tremendous improvement from 2023 to 2024. She was the team's No. 3 runner in the conference championships in 2023 and placed 67th this season as the team's top runner, a 20-place improvement from 2023.

Paula Romo had another strong season for the Golden Eagles and was the team's No. 2 runner at the CCAA Championships and the NCAA West Regional. 

Freshman Mikaela Holguin made a big impact in her first season with the program, competing in all six races and finishing among the team's top-five consistently. Sophomore Jasmine Trujillo also ran in all six races and was a consistent scorer for the Golden Eagles.

Cal State LA also got key contributions from Alejandra Estrada, Norma Martinez, Jaqueline Monroy and Dalia Romo, who all competed in at least four meets for the Golden Eagles.

Cal State LA Men's Cross Country
Final CCAA Finish: 8th (238 points)
Final NCAA West Regional Finish: 22nd (685 points)
All-America: NA
All-West Region: NA
All-CCAA: NA
CCAA Elite 13 Award: Damion Bonds
2024 Fall Academic Honor Roll: Damian Bonds, David Bonds, John Covarrubias, Joshua Lovato, Trent Osburn, Brandon Rivas-Gramajo, David Rush
2024-25 CCAA All-Academic Award: TBA

Cal State LA Women's Cross Country
Final CCAA Finish: 11^th (336 points)
Final NCAA West Regional Finish: 27th (849 points)
All-America: NA
All-West Region: NA
All-CCAA: NA
2024 Fall Academic Honor Roll: Alejandra Estrada
2024-25 CCAA All-Academic Award: TBA