LA JOLLA, Calif. - After honing their skills at the San Diego Track Club USATF 5k last weekend, the UC San Diego cross country teams will host their annual UCSD Triton Classic this Saturday at the Triton Cross Country Course. The 6k women's race will begin at 9:00 a.m. with the 10k men's event scheduled to follow at 10:00. Both races will start on the North Campus Athletic Fields and finish on the Triton Track.
Saturday's event will feature a field of teams from Divisions I, II, and III, as well as the junior college level. The list of participating schools includes CCAA members Cal Poly Pomona and Cal State San Bernardino, as well as Cal State Bakersfield, Central Arizona, Grand Canyon, San Diego State, the University of San Diego, UC Irvine, and Western New Mexico.
Ranked No. 7 in the West Region, the Triton women enter Saturday's competition looking for a strong showing in their final race before the conference championships in two weeks. UCSD finished sixth at the University of Southern Indiana Pre-National Invitational on September 26, getting a glimpse at the course that will serve as the site of the NCAA Division II Championships in November. Sophomore
Elena Inouye led the way for the Tritons, finishing 17th overall with a time of 23:28.36 in the 6k.
Caprice Thompson and
Marie Schaper finished in 30th and 31st, respectively, while
Brianna Alban placed 35th, two spots in front of
Nina Su.
After missing the race in Evansville two weeks ago,
Bre Schofield will be back in action for head coach
Nate Garcia on Saturday. The sophomore All-American posted one of the top female times in last weekend's 5k in Balboa Park, clocking in at 18:10.
UCSD's women finished second overall at the Triton Classic last season, with Schofield leading the way with an eighth place time of 22:23.6. Inouye also had a strong showing for the Tritons, claiming 13th place with a time of 22:57.5.
The Triton men, currently ranked No. 8 in West, will also be looking to make a push on their home course. UCSD finished eighth at the USI Pre-National Invite on the men's side, led by sophomore Jeremy Riley's 24th place time of 26:52.43. A quartet of freshman rounded out the scoring for the Tritons on the day, as Tom Hudson, Matt Lenehan, Taylor Hogshead, and Matt Yankowski, finished 34th, 36th, 59th, and 75th in the 8k, respectively.
UCSD also took second in the men's race at the Triton Classic in 2008, with Jesse Morrill paving the way with a seventh place individual finish. His time of 32:34.0 was 40 second faster than teammate Gabe LaMothe, who placed 12th overall. Mike Wright and Riley capped the scoring for the Tritons, finishing in 19th and 20th place with respective times of 33:40.8 and 33:42.5.
The Triton harriers fared well on their home course earlier this season, sweeping a dual meet with Point Loma Nazarene and Cerritos College to open the season.
