RIVERSIDE, Calif. — The final regular season meet of the year for UC San Diego cross country sees the Tritons return to UC Riverside this Saturday for the Highlander Invitational. Half of the Tritons previously competed in the UC Riverside Invitational on Sept. 27.
Racing begins with the men's 8k, followed by the women's 6k. The races will be at UCR's Agricultural Operations Course.
DETAILS
Meet 5 – Highlander Invitational
Saturday, Oct. 18 | Riverside, Calif.
Men's 8k – 8:00 a.m. | Women's 6k – 8:40 a.m.
Forecast: 59 degrees and clear; wind up to 5 mph; 0% chance of rain; 64% humidity
LAST TIME OUT
The Tritons had a split weekend Sept. 26-27. Half the squad raced at Oklahoma State's Cowboy Jamboree, with the women finishing seventh and the men 11th. The other half raced at the UC Riverside Invitational, with the women finishing fourth and the men ninth.
PRESEASON RANKINGS
Both the Triton men and the Triton women were ranked in the preseason edition of the NCAA West Region Rankings for the first time in Division I. The men checked into the coaches' poll at No. 13, while the women were ranked No. 14.
THE TRITONS
The women's team features 20 scholar-athletes, 16 returners and four newcomers. Joining the squad are four incoming freshmen:
Saidbh Byrne,
Shea Elmore,
Kylie Hoornaert and
Sabrina Zanetto.
The men's team features 15 scholar-athletes, nine returners and six newcomers. Joining the squad are six incoming freshmen:
Oliver Clippinger-Zimmermann,
Evan Gardner,
Nathaniel Griffin-Yeh,
Ian Hansen,
Navin Kadel and
Bradford Stegge.
California is home for 30 of the 35 runners. Only one is a transfer, the rest joined the Tritons out of high school. There are nine seniors, nine juniors, six sophomores and 11 freshmen.
MEET THE COACHES
Head coach
Nate Garcia '00 is back for his 19th season at the helm of Triton cross country and 24th as a member of the coaching staff. He was a four-year letter-winner in both cross country and track at UC San Diego from 1996 to 2000. Garcia is assisted by
Meriah Earle, who is in her fourth season with the Tritons. Earle ran both track and cross country at San Diego State, graduating in 2001.
BIG WEST CHAMPIONSHIPS
The Tritons are in their second season of Division I postseason eligibility and will compete in The Big West Championships on Oct. 31 in Honolulu, Hawai'i. In 2024, the Triton women placed fourth and the Triton men placed fifth at the conference championships.
Sylvana Northrop was the Tritons' top individual finisher at those races last season, placing sixth to earn All-Conference honors. She returns in 2025 for her redshirt senior season.
NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS
The Tritons will also compete in the NCAA West Regional Championships on Nov. 14 in Sacramento. The Regional Championships serve as qualifiers for select teams to advance to the NCAA Championships, which will be on Nov. 22 in Columbia, Missouri.
UP NEXT
With the regular season concluding on Saturday, the Tritons will next turn their attention to The Big West Championships on Oct. 31 in Hawai'i.
WHY THE TRITONS?
The Triton is described as the offspring of Poseidon and Amphitrite, a demigod of the sea with a lower part of the body like that of a fish. It is known as a mighty and fierce sea warrior. Given UC San Diego's close proximity to the Pacific Ocean and its connections with the world-famous Scripps Institution of Oceanography, the Triton became our mascot in 1964.
TRITON CROSS COUNTRY TALK
As part of UC San Diego's transition to Division I, the Athletics Department launched a weekly podcast,
Tritoncast. New episodes of Tritoncast are available on the most popular podcasting apps and on UCSDTritons.com. For individual show information and listen links, follow Tritoncast on X
@Tritoncast.
GET SOCIAL WITH UC SAN DIEGO CROSS COUNTRY
Keep up with the Tritons all season long on social media through
X,
Facebook 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 in NCAA Division I. The 24-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 39 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 90 percent, the highest rate among public institutions in NCAA Division I or II. For more information on the Tritons, visit UCSDtritons.com or follow UC San Diego Athletics on social media @UCSDtritons.
