MAMMOTH LAKES, Calif. – Freshmen women Emily Richards and Sylvana Northrop impressed in UC San Diego cross country's Division I debut on Wednesday, September 1, 2021. The Triton men and women competed in a tri-meet with UCLA and UC Riverside at the Whitmore Recreation Area in Mammoth Lakes. The meet was originally scheduled to be held at Shady Rest Park in Mammoth Lakes but was moved due to fire safety concerns. Richards and Northrop finished third and fourth, respectively, in the women's race.
"It was great to get our teams back out on the course today," said UC San Diego head coach Nate Garcia. "Our women did a great job of mixing it up with the Bruins. Emily [Richards] and Sylvana [Northrop] made a great impact in their first collegiate race. Our men worked well together today. As we move that pack forward, we will be able to score better in future meets."
In the women's 4k event, the Tritons finished second as a team with 40 points behind UCLA. The Bruins took the first two individual positions. Carlie Dorostkar led the women's field with a time of 15:39. Richards nearly edged out the second-place position (Gwyn George) with a time of 15:49 and Northrop followed with a time of 15:53 in fourth. UCLA filled in the five-through-eight slots, and Kelsie Yamano (Fr.) and Caitlin Billman (Jr.) rounded out the top 10.
The men finished third as a team with 64 points, just three points behind UCR (61). Gabriel Reuter had the best finish for the Triton men with a time of 17:26 in the men's 6k. The junior placed 12th, followed by a group of UCSD runners taking the 14-17th positions. The Bruins controlled the men's field with nine of the top 10 individual finishers.
UP NEXT
UC San Diego cross country returns to action on September 10 for the UC Davis Stump Invite in Davis, Calif.
--
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 began a new era in 2020 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 38 have earned 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.
