LA JOLLA, Calif. – The UC San Diego men's and women's cross country teams will kick off the 2021 season on Wednesday, September 1 at the UCLA/UC Riverside Tri-Meet at Shady Rest Park in Mammoth Lakes, California (*As of Tuesday afternoon the meet location has been changed to Whitmore Recreation Area in Mammoth Lakes, Calif.).  This will be the first time the team competes as a Division I program and the first meet for the Tritons in nearly two years after the 2020 season was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Tritons headed out to Mammoth Lakes last Wednesday and have spent the last week preparing for the start of their Division I campaign with an altitude training camp.
 
Meet Info:

• Action kicks off with the women's 4K race at 7:30 AM
• The men's 6K will start shortly after at 8 AM
• Both races will be run at Shady Rest Park in Mammoth Lakes, Calif. Whitmore Recreation Area in Mammoth Lakes, Calif.
• Wednesday's forecast is sunny with a high of 75° (high 60s, low 70s in the morning) with humidity under 20% and a UV index of nine. 

 
About our Opponents:

• The UCLA (PAC-12) men's team is ranked 9th in the West in the NCAA Preseason Regional rankings
• This is the season debut for both the Bruins and UCR
• UC Riverside (Big West) along with the Tritons had their 2020 season canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
• UCLA's fall season was canceled due to COVID-19, but the team was able to compete in early 2021 last year (February and March)

 
There will be no live results available for the meet. Results will be posted on ucsdtritons.com following the race. Follow UC San Diego Cross Country on Instagram and Twitter for updates and meet results @ucsdxc.
 
 
UC SAN DIEGO AND COVID-19
UC San Diego's nationally renowned Return to Learn program was created to return to in-person teaching, learning, conducting pioneering research and serving our communities in the safest way possible. The program has three adaptive pillars that are central to our strategy to resume on-campus activity: risk mitigation, viral detection, and intervention.

For the latest information on UC San Diego and COVID-19, please visit the University's Return to Learn site.

ON THE MOVE
After 20 seasons competing as an NCAA Division II team, the entire athletics program has begun a four-year transition to NCAA Division I, culminating in full DI status as a member of the Big West Conference for the 2024-25 academic year. At that time, all sports will be eligible for conference and NCAA postseason play.

UC SAN DIEGO ATHLETICS LAUNCHES WEEKLY PODCAST
As part of UC San Diego's transition to Division I, the Athletics Department launched a weekly podcast, Tritoncast. Produced by UC San Diego Athletics Communications, Tritoncast features in-depth interviews with UC San Diego personalities including scholar-athletes, alums, coaches, and administrators. Triton fans will get an inside look at the UC San Diego Athletics Department as the program transitions to NCAA Division I and the Big West Conference. New episodes of Tritoncast are available each week on the most popular podcasting apps, including Amazon Music, Apple Podcasts, Audible, iHeartRadio, Pandora, Spotify, Stitcher, TuneIn, and Vurbl. In addition, each episode can be heard and downloaded on UCSDTritons.com. For individual show information and listen links, follow Tritoncast on Twitter @Tritoncast.

GET SOCIAL WITH UC SAN DIEGO CROSS COUNTRY 
Keep up with the Tritons all season long on social media through Twitter and Instagram. The team's handle is @ucsdxc.

FOR THE YOUNGER CROWD
Got some young Triton fans in your family? If they are eighth grade or under, check out the Junior Triton Club. Membership includes a free t-shirt, admission to over 100 UC San Diego home athletic events, and much more!

GEAR
For the latest Triton apparel and accessories, click here.
 
About UC San Diego Athletics
After two decades as one of the most successful programs in NCAA Division II, the UC San Diego intercollegiate athletics program has begun a new era as a member of the Big West Conference in NCAA Division I. The 23-sport Tritons earned 30 team and nearly 150 individual national championships during its time in Divisions II and III and helped guide 1,400 scholar-athletes to All-America honors. A total of 83 Tritons have earned Academic All-America honors, while 37 have garnered prestigious NCAA Post Graduate Scholarships. UC San Diego scholar-athletes exemplify the academic ideals of one of the world's preeminent institutions, graduating at an average rate of 91 percent, one of the highest rates among institutions at all divisions. For more information on the Tritons, visit UCSDtritons.com or follow UC San Diego Athletics on social media @UCSDtritons.