RIVERSIDE, Calif. — UC San Diego's Elle Marsyla captured her third individual win, setting the pace for the Tritons at the Highlander Invite, where the women finished second as a team in the 6000 amongst a 22-team field. The Triton men finished fifth in the 8000 against an 18-team field.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED – WOMEN'S RACE
Marsyla ran a sub-20 minute 6000 for the first time to claim victory in the event. Battling two close competitors she pulled ahead by .5 seconds for the win. Behind her, Shea Elmore finished 12th, Anna Desormeau 30th, Stefania Sesock 46th, and Michelle Huerta 50th to round out Triton point-scorers in the top 50. Dasha LeFaivre and Norah Dulaney rounded out the Tritons top seven.
  
Also racing for the Tritons was Camille Lindsay, Meilani Castillo, Kaitlyn Carmichael, Kimberly Willard, and Annie Burton.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED – MEN'S RACE
In the men's 8k, Ryan Stanley was the top finisher for the Tritons, placing 12th. Tate Meaux, Joseph Vargas, Shane Badcock, stayed tight in a pack to take the 38th, 39th, and 40th spots. Rounding out the Triton point-scorers were Jeffrey Keeney, Oliver Clippinger-Zimmermann, and Bradford Stegge.
 
Also racing for the Tritons was Nathaniel Griffin-Yeh, Ryan Chen, Marco Franco, Navin Kadel, Wyatt Boling, and Evan Gardner.
 
QUOTABLE
"Some really good individual efforts today," head coach Nate Garcia states. "For the men Tate set the early tone and Ryan put together a solid second half. We have some work to do as a team before we come back in a couple weeks for Big West, but the pieces are in place."
 
"Elle put together a great performance. In a three woman battle most of the race Elle closed with a furious kick to take her third win of the season. Shea also had a very strong race, and Anna made a nice step forward. UCSB ran a great race and were better than us today, but we will get back to work and take another swing at them in two weeks."
 
UP NEXT
The Tritons will return to Riverside, Calif. for the Big West Championships on Saturday, Oct. 31. The conference championship will be held on the same course as the Highlander Invitational at UC Riverside. The race is set to begin at 8 a.m.
 
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.