Cross Country

Cross Country Travels to the Bay Area for the Saint Mary’s Invitational

San Diego State Cross Country will travel to Concord, California to compete in the Saint Mary’s Invitational at Newhall Park.

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Cross Country Travels to the Bay Area for the Saint Mary’s InvitationalCross Country Travels to the Bay Area for the Saint Mary’s Invitational
Morgan Tamm

SAN DIEGO – San Diego State Cross Country is returning to the starting line on September 18 as the Aztecs travel north to compete in the Saint Mary’s Invitational. SDSU will be racing along a six-kilometer course at Newhall Park with the women’s race beginning at 9:30 a.m. PST. Temperatures are expected to reach the mid-60s as the race begins.

The field will feature 12 NCAA Division I programs including SDSU as well as three NCAA Division II teams. University of California, Berkeley (10), University of San Francisco (11), UCLA (12) and UC San Diego (13) all ranked in the top 15 of the NCAA West Region last year. Chico State, a Division II powerhouse, finished the year the eighth ranked program in the nation at their level during the 2025 season.

The Aztecs are coming off an impressive debut at the Aztec Coastal Classic where five SDSU athletes finished in the top 10 across the five-kilometer course. Ariella Llorens, Isabella Frisone, Elliana Lomeli and Skylar Watts all finished under 18 minutes while Llorens posted a sub-17-minute performance in her college debut. The Aztecs won the meet earning their second team victory since 2016.

Last Time Out

  • The Aztecs raced, most recently, at the Aztec Coastal Classic on September 3 with nine athletes finishing the race.
  • Ariella Llorens time of 16:55.0 is one minute and 29 seconds faster than the fastest cross country 5k time the Aztecs posted last year (Vanessa Cabello ran 18:24.8 at the 2025 Aztec Coastal Classic).
  • Five freshmen made their collegiate debut. The most in a single season since the 2018 season and second most in head coach Robert Lusitana’s time with the Aztecs.
  • Isabella Frisone, the lone upperclassman on the roster, made her SDSU debut after transferring from Boise State. She took third place with a time of 17:34.0, a new personal best in the 5k.
  • Elliana Lomeli (5th place) and Skylar Watts (7th place) both set personal bests in the 5k. Lomeli ran 17:40.4 while Watts finished with a time of 17:54.3.
  • Freshman Delaney Johns finished in 10th place with a time of 18:03.0.
  • This was the program’s second team victory of any race length since 2016.

Individual Notes

  • This meet will be the first time the Aztecs race a six-kilometer course this season.
  • Sophomores Alexis Wolfinger and Emily Russo finished in 18th and 20th place respectively at the Aztec Coastal Classic while both setting personal bests.
  • Freshmen Rickelle Bush and Olivia Campos completed their first races as Aztecs with Bush running 19:01.0 and Campos finishing with a time of 19:22.5 at the Aztec Coastal Classic.