SAN DIEGO – The San Diego State cross country team will be competing at UC Riverside's Highlander Invitational (6k) Saturday morning at 8:40 a.m.
The Aztecs will have their entire team running: Emily Burd, Paige Comiso, Isabelle Davis. Amber Elias, Lauren Harper, Jessica Kain, Alex Lomeli, Taylor Lustyan, Carlene Masar, Nicole Meyer, Natalie Regalado, Naomi Smitham and Bailey Watts.
SDSU will be competing against runners from California Baptist, Cal State Fullerton, Dixie State, Embry Riddle (Ariz.), Grand Canyon, Long Beach State, Montana, New Mexico State, San Diego, UC Irvine, UC Riverside, UC San Diego among other schools.
The race is at 8:40 a.m. PT so temperatures should be cooler. The forecast calls for clear skies and temperatures in the high 50's to low 60's and minimal wind.
The race is being run at UC Riverside's Agricultural Operations Cross Country Course, which is on a 420-acre Citrus Research Center and Agricultural Experiment Station located adjacent to the UCR campus.
The course is deceptive, appearing flat, fast and easy at first, but with a large difference in elevation from one end of the course to the other. The west end, at about the 1.5 mile mark, is 100 feet lower than the start/finish area, and runners tend to go out fast only to find the return home challenging. With a wide running surface, the course features a long loop that winds through citrus trees and crosses over irrigation canals.
Aztec Storylines
• The Aztecs took second (out of 5) at the Arizona's Dave Murray Invitational on October 1st. They placed three runners on the top ten and beat New Mexico State, Arizona State and Grand Canyon
• Alex Lomeli paced the Aztecs at both the USD Invitational (Sept. 17) and Cougar Challenge (Sept. 24).
• Jessica Kain has been the top Aztec finisher in the last four of the last five races she's run in.
• Carlene Masar has finished in the top two among Aztecs in every race she's run and was the top SDSU finisher in their last race the Dave Murray Invitational.
• Kain, Masar, Emily Burd, Lauren Harper, Amber Elias and Naomi Smitham all recorded career-best 6k times at the Stump Invitational on Sept. 10.
• Kain broke out during the 2021 outdoor track season. She became the first Aztec to qualify for the NCAA West Regionals in the 1,500m and her PR of 4:21.87 was the fastest time by an SDSU runner since 1982.
• The Aztecs competed in just two races in the shortened 2020 season (that occurred in the winter of 2021), both of which took place at Craig Ranch Regional Park in Las Vegas.
Coach Lusitana's Take on the Highlander Invitational
"This race will be our final prep before our postseason races. It will be one more opportunity for them to gain valuable experience against strong teams in a larger field of runners. Among other strong teams, we will be racing against Cal State Fullerton, who is ranked No. 13 in the Western Region. The results from our last race in Arizona really energized the team. They were already motivated and focused, but that race showed them how exciting it can be for them to compete when team goals are within reach. They have put in another solid two weeks of training and are very excited to race on this course and to be able to race together as a full team."
Last Time Out
The Aztec cross country team finished in second place at the Dave Murray Invitational 6k at the Rolling Hills Golf Club in Tucson, Ariz. on Oct. 1
SDSU placed three runners in the top 10 and totaled 51 points, trailing just Arizona, the host school, who had 45. The Aztecs beat New Mexico State (69), Arizona State (73) and Grand Canyon (100).
"The team did a great job of competing today," Coach Lusitana said. "They stayed focused and battled Arizona the entire race. The great thing about this team is that they are truly a team. All of them have the ability to step up on any given day. Today, Carlene, Emily, Alex, and Nicole, our freshman, really stepped up and picked up the team. We are very pleased with today's results, a second place and just a few spots out of first. It absolutely shows we are making progress towards our season's overall goals."
SDSU was led by Carlene Masar who finished in 21:29.5, good for fourth place. Emily Burd came in seventh with a time of 21:55.7 and Alex Lomeli continued her breakout season with a 10th place finish (21:59.4).
Freshman Nicole Meyer (13th, 22:10.7) and Jessica Kain (17th, 22:21.1) rounded out the Aztecs' top five.
Also running for SDSU was Amber Elias (19th, 22:22.2), Lauren Harper (22:35.7), Naomi Smitham (26th, 22:52.6) and Taylor Lustyan (29th, 23:15.1).
Aztecs Running at Highlander Invitational Saturday
