In just the second race of the young season the Menlo College women's cross country team got its first individual win on Sunday at the Pacific Union Invitation in Angwin.

Megan Thompson put in a gutsy performance on one of the toughest, hilliest courses the Oaks will race all season and bested Simpson's Holly Pebbles in the final mile to claim the first place finish with a time of 21:46.

"It was an unbelievable race by Megan," Menlo coach Dan Noel said. "On a course like this, you either attack the hills, or they break you. Megan stayed aggressive throughout, and dominated over the last mile."

Menlo had four other runners compete en route to a third-place finish behind Simpson and Pacific Union.

Freshman Estrella Bautista-Farias put in a top five finish, placing fifth with a time of 23:17. Rounding out the Oaks' top five runners were Hunter Dupree, Antarpreet Dhariwal and Saybah Biawogi.

"This is a true cross country course; the most difficult we will see all year. Our team responded to the challenge, and continues to surprise the competition," said Noel.

Next for Menlo is the Gator Invitational, hosted by San Francisco State on October 9.

Men's cross country also competed in its first competition over the weekend on Saturday in the Garin Park XC Challenge, hosted by the West Valley Track Club.

Micah Van Alstine, Sam Rossman, and Sam Bueno opened the season in their first ever cross country competition.