LA JOLLA, Calif. - The UC San Diego cross country teams looked dominant as both squads took first place at the 22nd Annual Triton Classic on the UCSD Cross Country Course. The race marks the end of the regular season for UCSD. The men's team last won the Triton Classic in 2012, while the women's most recent victory before Saturday was in 2011.
Junior Tareq Alwafai continued his stellar 2014 campaign with another outstanding performance as he was the first collegiate runner to cross the finish line, second overall, with a time of 26:18.3.
"I felt good during the race," Alwafai said. "We took it out kind of timidly and held it in the beginning. I dropped back a little bit in the middle and towards the end I just kicked back up to second place."
Senior Tanner Collins was narrowly able to outsprint Benji Preciado of San Francisco State and Ben Garland of Cal State Monterey Bay in the last 50 meters of the race to take third place, roughly four seconds behind Alwafai.
Scott Acton finished with a time of 26:30.3, good for seventh place. Daniel Franz narrowly missed the top ten, crossing the line in 26:52.1 for 11th place. Daniel Hauptman rounded out the scorers for Tritons as he took 15th with a time of 27:12.
"Tareq, again, is just really showing he can be really comforatble being a leader," said head coach Nate Garcia. "He was conservative early, moved up and attacked real strong late. Tanner Collins did a great job of staying close enough so he could make a big surge at the finish."
As a team, the Triton men finished with 32 points. California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) rivals San Francisco State took second with 58 points and Cal State Monterey Bay took third with 74 points.
Olympic triathlete Jarrod Shoemaker won the race as an unattached runner with a time of 25:57.8.
On the women's side, UCSD continued to use their strong pack to their advantage as they put five runners in the top 14 spots. The Tritons were led by Corinne Hinkle once again who finished the six-kilometer course with a time of 22:37.8, good for fourth place.
"(Head coach) Nate (Garcia) just told me to stay with the top pack. Two girls went out in the front and I just tried to stick with them (and) keep my same distance. I fell back a little bit and me and this one girl were going at it and she got me in the end. " Hinkle said about her performance.
Paige Hughes finished right behind Hinkle in fifth place with a time of 22:51.3. Chandler Colquitt was able to take over ninth place after outsprinting Azusa Pacific's Kylie Betts to the finish line. Colquitt finished with a time of 23:03.3.
Madison Tanner was next for the Tritons as she crossed the line at 23:06.7 for 11th place. Michelle Le Roux closed out the scorers as she took 14th.
"Our women's pack has been a real emphasis. We talked about it yesterday, really specifically by trying to push each other, by trying to tighten up where we're a little weaker." Garcia said.
As a team, the Tritons scored 43 points. Azusa Pacific took runner-up honors with 62 points and CCAA rival Cal State Monterey Bay took third with 102 points.
Dixie State's Skyler Storie was the individual winner with a time of 21:54.3.
The Tritons have two weeks off before the postseason, starting with the CCAA Championships, hosted by Cal State San Bernardino.
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