COLLEGE STATION, Texas — Triton men's cross country finished second and the women finished third on Saturday morning at the Texas A&M Invitational.
 
There were 13 teams in the men's 8k, including three Power Five schools. The women's 5k had 14 teams, including four Power Five schools.
 
Sylvana Northrop was the top finisher for the women, taking 4th after running 17:08.4. Charlie Frank led the men with a time of 24:21.0, good for 13th place.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED – MEN'S RACE
The men's race started out bunched together, with the Tritons sticking to the main pack and in fifth at the 2k split. The race started to open up by the 5.7k split, which saw the Tritons move to fourth behind Texas A&M, TCU and Houston.
 
Frank led the Tritons through the field as the race neared its conclusion. They ultimately cleared Houston by 22 points and did just enough down the stretch to beat TCU by three points. Texas A&M won its home contest with 25 points, followed by the Tritons on 98 points.
 
Evan Hild (17th) and Nathan Garderes (19th) joined Frank in the top 20. Also scoring for the Tritons was Tate Meaux (28th) and Nathaniel Griffin-Yeh (30th). Shane Badcock and Jeffrey Keeney were 36th and 37th to finish sixth and seventh for the team.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED – WOMEN'S RACE
The women's race was more splintered from the start. The Tritons were in fifth at the 2k split, trailing the four Power Five schools. Northrop was in 14th at that point with a 10-second gap to the leaders.
 
The Tritons stuck to their race as they continued down the course, ultimately surging past Houston and TCU to finish in third. They had 73 points, just one shy of second-place SMU. Texas A&M won the women's race as well, scoring 33 points.
 
Christel Elkins (ninth) joined Northrop in the top 10. Emma Dunmire (18th) and Dasha LeFaivre (20th) were the Tritons' next scorers, followed by Allyson Abandonato (25th). Sixth and seventh for the team went to Norah Dulaney (29th) and Shea Elmore (39th).
 
TRITON TIDBITS

• Freshmen Oliver Clippinger-Zimmermann, Nathaniel Griffin-Yeh, Kylie Hoornaert, Navin Kadel, Bradford Stegge and Sabrina Zanetto all made their collegiate debuts on Saturday.
• The race was the Tritons' first in Texas since at least 2004.

QUOTABLE
"I am really pleased with how both teams raced today," head coach Nate Garcia '00 said. "They were up against a very strong group of teams and handled themselves really well. They worked together and were aggressive in the second half of the race. They were rewarded with great team finishes against some of the best squads in the South Central Region.

Sylvana and Charlie did a great job setting the tone for both teams and were crucial for our success. This will be great momentum for our teams as we get back to work these next couple of weeks.

Texas A&M were great hosts and put on a top-notch meet. We truly appreciate the opportunity to run here today."
 
UP NEXT
The Tritons will be back in action in two weeks with part of the squad at the Cowboy Jamboree, hosted by Oklahoma State on Sept. 26. The rest of the team will be at the UC Riverside Invitational on Sept. 27.
 
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.