Sept. 10, 2015
SAN DIEGO -
After winning the Mark Covert Classic Invitational last Saturday, the San Diego State cross country team travels to Riverside, Calif., this weekend for the UC Riverside Invitational. The one-day event will feature a women's 6K invitational and a 5K collegiate open, with both races set to begin at 7:30 a.m. and 8:45 a.m. PT, respectively.
All four races (including the men's races) will take place at the UCR Agricultural Operations Course, which is adjacent to the UCR campus on the corner of Martin Luther King Boulevard and Canyon Crest Drive. General parking is available at UCR Lot 30 for $5. From the 215/60 freeway, exit Martin Luther King and go west. Pass through the Canyon Crest traffic light and make a right into UCR Lot 30. General admission is $5 and attendees 3 and under are free.
The course is 85 percent flat with a few rolling hills, hard-packed dirt with pre-competition watering to reduce dust. The course also goes through 100-year-old orange groves and eucalyptus trees.
Scheduled to run in the 6K invitational with San Diego State and the host Highlanders include Arkansas, Azusa Pacific, Cal Baptist, Cal Lutheran, Cal Poly Pomona, Cal St. Los Angeles, CSU Monterey Bay, CSU San Marcos, Central Arizona, Chapman, Colorado Mesa, Concordia, Glendale CC, La Verne, Long Beach State, Mesa CC, Paramount, Pasadena, Pomona-Pitzer, Riverside, Southern Utah, Southwestern, UC Davis, UC Santa Barbara, Vanguard, and numerous unattached athletes.
The Aztecs have entered seniors Grace Hanshaw, Lily Mayko, Rachel Roesgen and Hannah Sawatzki, juniors Cali King and Elaine Ribeiro, and sophomores Lily Seynaeve and Cassidy Towner.
At last year's UCR Invite, the Aztecs finished fourth out of 23 teams in the 6K invitational race and third out of 20 squads in the 5K open race. Junior Elaine Ribeiro took 17th out of 172 runners in the 6K, posting the seventh-fastest time in school history after passing the finish line at 21 minutes, 42.6 seconds. Another top runner was sophomore Lily Seynaeve who finished 18th with a 6K debut time of 21:44.9, making SDSU's all-time list at No. 8.
SDSU heads into this weekend after winning the Mark Covert Classic last Saturday at Carbon Canyon Park in Brea, Calif. Highlighting the meet was Ribeiro who placed second out of 120 runners with a time of 18 minutes, 5.48 seconds. Hanshaw (4th, 18:29.57) and Towner (5th, 18:35.59) rounded out the top 5 list for the meet.
Results for the UC Riverside Invitational will first be posted on GoHighlanders.com and FinishedResults.com, and later on GoAztecs.com.