SAN DIEGO – The San Diego State cross country team continues their 2022 season at the UC Riverside Invitational on Saturday morning. The team will compete in a 6K at 7:15 a.m. PT and will run in the invitational heat of the meet, as well as a few student-athletes will participate in the open 5K at 8:25 a.m. PT.
Slated to run for SDSU: Vanessa Cabello, Amber Elias, Lauren Harper, Jessica Kain, Alex Lomeli, Taylor Lustyan, Nicole Meyer, Bella Peretti, Zala Sekavcnik (open 5K), and Tatum Zinkin (open 5K).
Coach Lusitana's Take: "This will be a competitive early season meet because this course will be the conference championship meet course for both the Big West and the PAC-12. Many teams from both conferences will be competing in order to get a feel for the course as preparation for their conference championship meets. This will be the first true test for us this season as it is a full 6k and a challenging course. The team is excited about the opportunity and understands that they need to come into the race with a business-like attitude to meet the challenge."
Aztec Storylines
• San Diego State opened their 2022 season at the Anteater Opener on Thursday Sept. 4.
• In the season opener four Aztecs made their collegiate debuts, and three runners ran faster than they did during the 2021 edition of the Anteater Opener.
• Jessica Kain paced the Aztecs, finishing in 14:12.0 which was good for fifth place overall. Kain's time was 10 seconds better than the mark she recorded at this event last year.
• SDSU competed in nine meets during the 2021 season, and earned four top five finishes throughout the season. The Aztecs finished in second at the Dave Murray Invitational, third at the Anteater Opener, fourth at the Stump Invitational, and fifth at the Highlander Invitational.
• Four student-athletes who raced at the NCAA West Regional held at the Haggin Oaks Golf Complex in Sacramento, California also return.
• The Aztecs finished off the 2022 season strongly, finishing in 23rd at the NCAA West Regionals, their highest finish at the event since the 2005 season.
• Eight athletes return for the 2022 season, including three of the Aztecs top five consistent scorers from last season in Jessica Kain, Nicole Meyer, and Lauren Harper.
• Jessica Kain, who was the Aztecs top runner in three different meets during the 2021 season, returns for her senior season.
• The Aztecs have added five freshmen to the roster for the 2022 season, four are from the state of California, and Zala Sekavcnik is from Slovenia.
SDSU at UC Riverside Invitational Saturday
