Sept. 3, 2015
SAN DIEGO - The San Diego State cross country team kicks off the 2015 campaign Saturday at Cal State Fullerton's Mark Covert Classic Invitational in Brea, Calif.
The women's 5K invitational will start at 9:15 a.m. PT and follows the men's invitational 8K, which is set for 8:30 a.m. PT. The meet will once again be held at Carbon Canyon Park (4442 Carbon Canyon Regional Park, Brea, CA 92821).
Formerly the Fullerton Season Opener, it was renamed the Mark Covert Classic in 2012 in honor of the 1970 Division II champion and Cal State Fullerton alum. The course consists of multiple loops alternating between a 1K grass inner loop in the main section of the park and a dirt trail nature loop.
The Aztecs and host Titans will be joined by squads from Loyola Marymount (LOYM), Canyons (CANS), Cerritos (CC), Desert (COD), Glendale (GCC), La Verne (LAVE), Mt. SAC (MSAC), Orange Coast (OCC), Pasadena (PCC), San Diego (SDU), and Whittier (WHCA). Additional track clubs that will be competing include Chino Hills Flash (CHIN), Lancer Track Club (LANC) and South Bay TC (SOUT), as well as some unattached athletes. There will be a total of 376 participants at Saturday's meet.
This year's SDSU team features eight runners, who are all returning after finishing 27th as a team at the 2014 NCAA West Regional. Junior Elaine Ribeiro was the team's top finisher in five of the seven races last year, while senior Grace Hanshaw led the way in two other events. In last year's Mark Covert Invite, the two were among the top 10, with Ribeiro placing sixth and Hanshaw ninth, respectively, out of 94 total participants.
Sophomore Lily Seynaeve, who made her San Diego State debut last season, posted times to become one of the team's top-3 runners in five of the races she competed in as a freshman. After clocking in at 21 minutes, 44.9 seconds at the UC Riverside Invitational over the 6K course, she finished in 18th out of 172 and made SDSU's all-time Top 10 list.
Other returners on this year's team include seniors Lily Mayko, Rachel Roesgen and Hannah Sawatzki, junior Cali King and sophomore Cassidy Towner.
Last year at this meet, San Diego State finished third out of eight teams, led by Ribeiro's time of 18:25.6.
Results for the Mark Covert Classic Invitational will be posted first on finishedresults.com and later on GoAztecs.com.