The UC San Diego cross country teams returned to Glen Helen Regional Park for the second time this season on Saturday, only this time more was on the line as they were competing in the 2008 California Collegiate Athletic Association Championships. The Triton men finished second overall in the 8,000-meter race, while the women placed third in their 6,000-meter run. Chico State captured both the men's and women's team titles. 

UCSD's second place finish comes after the Triton men had placed third in this event nine of the past 10 years. UCSD's women claimed third place for the third year in a row.  

The women started things off on Saturday morning and freshman Bre Schofield paced the Tritons for the six time in six events this season. The rookie finished third overall with a time of 21:55.7, which was 10 seconds behind the second place finisher, Cal Poly Pomona's Tiffany Turner. Schofield took home All-CCAA honors for her performance.

The next fastest Triton was Elena Inouye, who was named the CCAA Freshman of the Year after finishing 18th overall with a time of 23:12.4. Jessica DiMascio, Amanda Keuhn, and Brianna Alban rounded out the scoring for UCSD, finishing in 21st, 22nd, and 23rd place, respectively. DiMascio crossed the finish line with a time of 23:23.6, just under seven seconds faster than Kuehn. Alban finished with a time of 23:39.8.

Chico State turned in another dominating performance in this event, placing five runners in the top nine to win the program's fifth CCAA title in the last seven years. Junior Tori Tyler finished fourth overall with a time of 22:03.3 to lead five teammates finishing in fifth through ninth place.

Cal State L.A. junior Vivien Wadeck was named Athlete of the Meet after turning in a course-record time of 21:27 to out-run the field. She was also tabbed the CCAA Newcomer of the Year.

Chico State finished with 30 points to best 2007 champion Cal State L.A., which finished second with 52 points. UC San Diego scored 76 points on the day to finish third, while Cal Poly Pomona took fourth with 112. Humboldt State was fifth with 147 points, followed by Cal State Stanislaus (157), San Francisco State (186), Cal State San Bernardino (205), Sonoma State (250), Cal State Monterey Bay (322) and Cal State Dominguez Hills (358).

Jake LeVieux was the top individual finisher for the Tritons on the men's side, placing ninth overall with a time of 26:08.8. LeVieux crossed the finish line four spots in front of teammate Max Mullender, who took 13th with a time of 26:30.7. Both runners earned All-CCAA recognition for their efforts.

Freshman Jeremy Riley had a big performance for UCSD, finishing 17th overall with a time of 26:37.7. Gabe LaMothe and Mike Wright rounded out the scoring for the Tritons finishing in 20th and 21st place, respectively. LaMothe's time of 26:49.9 was three seconds faster than Wright's, who clocked in at 26:59.3.

Chico State All-American Scott Bauhs was the top individual finisher in the race, garnering Athlete of the Meet accolades after turning in a course-record time of 25:23.4. Teammates Brendan Scanlon (25:23.8) and Angel Marquez (25:27.8) placed second and third with respective times of 25:23.8 and 25:27.8.

Cal Poly Pomona's Jersain Torres was named Newcomer of the Year after finishing fourth with a time of 25:39. Teammate Clint Hostetler placed 16th with a time of 26:32.2 to garner Freshman of the Year accolades.

Chico State's men's squad continued its dominance of the CCAA, capturing its seventh straight conference title. The Wildcats had eight of the Top 10 finishers in the race to tally 17 points and finish 55 points ahead of the Tritons. Cal Poly Pomona scored 84 points to finish third, while Humboldt State finished fourth with 105. Cal State Stanislaus finished fifth with 113, followed by San Francisco State (157) and Cal State Monterey Bay (199).

Head coach Nate Garcia and the Tritons will have two weeks off before returning to action on Saturday, November 8 at the NCAA Division II West Regional. UCSD's Triton Cross Country will be the site of the event, with the men's race scheduled to begin at 8:45 a.m., followed by the women's race at 10:15.