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Women's
Results
Men's
Results
(Oct. 13, 2007) –
The UCR men’s and women’s cross country teams
took a big step towards their goal of reaching and excelling
in the postseason Saturday as the teams swept the 2007 VS
Athletics/Cal Poly Invitational at the Fairbanks Cross Country
Course in San Luis Obispo. The Highlander men placed their
top five runners among the top eight places, led by a first-place
performance by senior Ulices Pina, and the women placed their
top five finishers among the top 11, paced by a first place
finish by junior Brenda Martinez.
"For our programs to
be where we are, to not have a defeat against several nationally
ranked teams, we have done really well. We just have to keep
it going in two more weeks," Head Coach Irv Ray said.
For the women, Martinez
finished 5.6 seconds shy of the course record in 17:28.2.
Junior Cristina Olivas was second in 18:02.1, followed by
senior Liza Lopez in fourth in 18:09.5 and Daniel Evans in
fifth in 18:10.9. Senior Celene Reyes was 12th overall and
11th in scoring in 18:24.6.
UCR bested second place
See Jane Run by 34 points, with Fresno State third with 76
points and Cal Poly fourth with 82.
The upcoming Big West Cross
Country Championship will be held at the Cal Poly course,
and these races were widely viewed as a tune up for the conference
meet.
It was the third straight
time that the Highlander women have swept the team and individual
championships. Thus far, they have beaten all 45 schools they
have raced against this season. It was Martinez's second straight
individual win.
On the men's side, Pina
covered the 8K course in 26:03.8 for his first collegiate
win, with senior teammate Raul Lara nipping at his heals in
26:05.1. Junior Andrew Tachias was sixth overall and fourth
in scoring at 26:23.5, followed by Michael Buell in eighth
overall and sixth in scoring at 26:32.2 and sophomore Daniel
Lindstrom in 10th overall and eighth in scoring at 26:51.2.
Host Cal Poly placed second
overall with 58 points, with UCSB placing fourth with 93 points.
The win was the Highlanders'
second in a row. They have defeated 35-of-36 schools this
year, falling only to UCLA at the season-opening meet in Reno
in September.
"This course is brutally
difficult," Ray said. "The competition wasn't as
stiff as it will be in a couple of weeks at the Championships,
but we had a chance to experience the course and get ready
for the championships."
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