FULLERTON, Calif. – Opening the 2024 season at the Mark Covert Classic, UC San Diego cross country teams finished first on the women's side and third on the men's. Sylvana Northrop posted the highest finish for both sides, placing second overall. Zeno Castiglioni led the way for the men finishing eighth.
 
ON THE WOMEN'S SIDE
The women posted three top 10 finishes and three top 15 finishes with 2-7-9-12-13-15-38 all scoring to win the race. Nearly stealing the race, senior Sylvana Northrop led both squads with a second-place finish posting a time of 17:48.0. Emma Dumire joined Northrop in scoring with a seventh-place finish with a time of 18:04.0. Transfer Christel Elkins finished at 18:04.2 for the ninth-place finish.
 
Following in the top 15 were freshman Stefania Sesock (12th), junior Kelsie Yamano (13th), and sophomore Norah Dulaney. In 38th, senior Stella Gladden finished with a time of 19:00.1.
 
ON THE MEN'S SIDE
The Triton men were led by Zeno Castiglioni, Charlie Frank, and Jordan Haney for a third-place finish as a team. Castiglioni posted a time of 24:31.3 for eighth place. Frank followed in tenth with a time of 24:32.0 and Haney took 11th with a time of 24:33.9.
 
Supporting the leaders, captain Evan Hild finished 30th, Kai Dettman finished 38th, Tate Meaux finished 44th, and Luke Stefanou finished 46th.
 
QUOTABLE
Entering his 17th season at the helm of the cross country program, head coach Nate Garcia '00 commented, "Really pleased with how both our teams competed today. The results were a great reward for their hard work this summer, these past couple weeks, and today."

About the men he said, "the trio of Zeno, Charlie, and Jordan worked together super well and were all well clear of our fastest performer at this meet last year. The great fight from the rest of our squad moved us into the top three late in the race."

"Sylvana ran a great race. Engaging with the front group early she was patient and then unleashed a big kick late to nearly steal the win," Garcia added about the women, "behind her, our pack was tremendous together. Taking turns pressing the pace they helped get the best out of each other. As a team we moved really well late in the race and turned a 22pt deficit into a 6pt win in the final 1200m of the race."
 
Garcia said, "huge shoutout to the massive group of supporters they came out to the meet today. Their cheering made a big difference for our teams."
 
 
TRITON TIDBITS

• Sylvana Northrop took the highest Triton finish at second place.
• Zeno Castiglioni finished eighth for the men's highest finish.
• 10 Tritons made their collegiate debuts in today's race:
  • Stefania Sesock
  • Dasha LeFaivre
  • Winter Moritz
  • Annie Burton
  • Camille Lindsay
  • Kaitlyn Carmichael
  • Joseph Vargas
  • Jeffrey Keeney
  • Corbin Hobert
  • Taiyo Ariga

UP NEXT
The Tritons will travel to Colfax, Wash. to compete at the WSU Cougar Classic on Sept. 13.
 
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.