SAN DIEGO – The San Diego State cross country team will be competing at Cal State Fullerton's Titan Invitational 5k Friday at 5 p.m.
The Aztecs will have Paige Comiso, Isabelle Davis, Kennedy Jennings, Nyjari McNeil, Natalie Regalado and Bailey Watts competing. It will be the first XC race of the year for Jennings and McNeil, who are mid-distance runners on the Aztec track and field team.
The forecast calls for clear skies and temperatures in the low 70's to high 60's and minimal wind.
This will be SDSU's final race before the Mountain West Championships Oct. 29 in Albuquerque, N.M.
The race is being run at the Titan Track Complex. Runners will start and finish on the track and run multiple loops around grass recreation fields and concrete pathways throughout the Cal State Fullerton Sports Complex.
Aztec Storylines
• The Aztecs took fifth (out of 25) at the UC Riverside's Highlander Invitational last Saturday (Oct. 16). Running in a big field, eight of the 20 schools they beat were DI programs and SDSU placed five runners in the top 50.
• This was the second fastest team time on a 6k course in program history.
• The 24.8 second spread among SDSU's top five runners was their smallest of the year by a large margin. Their previous best in a 6k was 51.6 at the Dave Murray Invitational.
• Emily Burd was second among Aztec runners for the second consecutive race and for the third time this season.
• Taylor Lustyan, a Chico State transfer, finished third among Aztec runners, her first time being in the SDSU top five.
• 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 five of the last six races she's run in.
• Kain, Masar, Emily Burd, Lauren Harper, Amber Elias and Naomi Smitham all recorded career-best 6k times at the Stump Invitational on Sept. 10.
Coach Lusitana's Take on the Titan Invitational
"The Titan Invite serves as somewhat of a last chance meet for the individuals on our team who aren't currently on the travel squad. The opportunity exists, should they perform well, that they could be added to the group that will be traveling to New Mexico next week for Mountain West Championships.
Beyond that element, this race will be a great opportunity for all of them to run a fast 5k in their final XC meet of the season. Much of the course is on sidewalk or asphalt and the race does finish on the track so I expect the leaders will run reasonably fast."
Last Time Out
The Aztec cross country team placed fifth in the 25-school field at UC Riverside's Highlander Invitational Saturday morning. Out of the 20 schools SDSU beat eight were DI programs.
With 261 runners in the 6k, the entire SDSU top five was inside the top 50. Jessica Kain and Emily Burd paced the Aztecs, finishing in 21:35.0 and 21:38.0, good for 23rd and 25th place.
Taylor Lustyan was the third Aztec to finish, crossing the finish line in 21:54.5 (42nd place), her best time in her three races as an Aztec.
Rounding out the top five for the Aztecs was sophomore Amber Elias (46th place, 21:58.0) and freshman Nicole Meyer (47th, 21:59.8).
Other SDSU runners that finished in the top 100 were Naomi Smitham (74th, 22:33.1), Alex Lomeli (76th, 22:34.6) and Carlene Masar (82nd, 22:40.7).
Other Aztecs competing included Bailey Watts, who posted a career best time of 23:10.8, Paige Comiso (24:10.2), Natalie Regalado (24:53.2) and Isabelle Davis (25:00.3).
Aztecs Racing in Titan Invitational Friday
