Lions Make Strides At Conference Preview
The De Anza College cross country teams continued to build momentum with a strong day at Hartnell's Pink in the Park meet at Toro Park, the site of this year's Coast Conference Championships in Salinas.
Complete Results: https://www.athletic.net/CrossCountry/meet/258522/info
Women's Race (3 Miles) — 3rd Place, 69 Points
Sophomore Siena Pignataro led the Mountain Lions with a breakthrough performance, placing fourth overall in 18:45.7. Her time ranks No. 2 all-time in De Anza history at Toro Park, trailing only former state champion Katie Castro (18:25, 2012). Pignataro improved a stunning 6 minutes, 24 seconds from last fall (25:09 to 18:45).
Right behind her, sophomore Corinne Thelen finished sixth in 19:08.5, now the No. 4 De Anza all-time mark at Toro Park behind Oddessy Tapia (18:58, 2012). Thelen cut 2 minutes, 19 seconds from last year (21:27 to 19:08).
Freshman Romy Kiessling impressed in her first race at the course, placing 14th in 19:46, instantly entering the program's all-time ranks.
The scoring five was rounded out by freshmen Nathaly Bernal (39th, 21:47) and Angela Ellis (43rd, 22:19), both racing Toro Park for the first time.
As a team, the Mountain Lion women finished thirdd with 69 points, a major step forward compared to last year's sixth-place finish with 137 points.
Men's Race (4 Miles) — 8th Place, 225 Points
Sophomore Giovanni Lancellotti once again set the pace for De Anza, running 21:29 for 15th place, a 27-second improvement from his 2024 showing (21:56 to 21:29).
Other key returners also made strides:
- Jerry Dang improved 1:02 (23:53 to 22:51).
- Toby Huynh cut 1:43 (27:08 to 25:25).
The Mountain Lion men finished eigth overall, racing in one of the deepest fields of the season.
Coach's Quotes
"This was a solid overall day for our program with everyone improving from last year," said Head Coach Andy Ponce de Leon.
"Siena and Corinne put their names into our all-time record book, and Romy showed she can be a major piece for us moving forward. Giovanni set the tone for the men with another jump from last year. We're continuing to take steps in the right direction."
Next Up
The Mountain Lions return to training with sights set on the Pat Ryan Invitational in Santa Rosa in two weeks.