Sept. 16, 2010
SAN DIEGO -
2010 Aztec Invitational Info | Entries
The San Diego State cross country team will kick off its 2010 season Saturday (Sept. 18) at the 66th annual Aztec Invitational presented by the Courtyard Marriott San Diego Central. This year's invitational will include four races, all set to run at historic Balboa Park.
The Aztecs will compete in the women's invitational 5,000-meter race, which is scheduled to start at 8:45 a.m. PT. The first event of the day will be the women's open 5K, starting at 8 a.m. PT, followed by the men's invitational 8K (9:30 a.m. PT) and the men's open 8K (10:15 a.m. PT).
SDSU will look to improve on last year's fourth-place finish. San Diego State's top returner that is competing Saturday is senior Sara Beyers. Beyers took 25th at the 2009 invitational with a time of 19 minutes, 53 seconds.
Senior Alma Escobar will be making her Aztec Invitational debut after being injured each of her past two chances, while juniors Amy Brown (51st in 2009, 21:05), Missy Bunn (64th, 21:56) and Josefine Koskinen (37th, 20:15) will each look to improve on their 2009 placing.
Sophomore Jordan Davis will also run on Saturday after taking 35th in 20:08 a year ago, as will classmate Sabrina Rathor (62nd, 21:48). Scheduled to make their collegiate debut are AnSherae Devine, and freshmen Amanda Okun, Amy Reaser and Hannah Winokur.
The Aztecs are one of nine teams competing in the invitational 5K. No. 20 Brigham Young highlights a field that also includes regionally ranked Northern Arizona (No. 7 in Mountain Region) and UCLA (No. 11 in West Region), and 2009 JUCO National Champion Central Arizona.
On the men's side, third-ranked Northern Arizona is the clear cut favorite in the invitational 8K. UCLA, which is receiving votes in the USTFCCCA poll and ranked sixth in the West Region, and Long Beach State (No. 13 in West Region) could also challenge.
The results for all four races will be posted online at GoAztecs.com sometime after the completion of the men's open 8K.