at UC Riverside Invitational
Date: Saturday, Sept. 16
Event: Men's 8K Invitational
Time: 8:05 a.m. (PDT)
Location: UCR Ag/Ops Course - Riverside, Calif.
Meet Info // Finished Results

THIS WEEK
The UC Irvine men's cross country team is back in action this weekend as it heads to the Inland Empire for the 37th annual UC Riverside Invitational on Saturday, Sept. 16.
 
Two men's races are scheduled with the 8000m Invitational at 8:05 a.m., and the 8000m Open at 9:10 a.m., both on the UCR Ag/Ops Course.
 
Nine Anteaters are entered in the 8K Invitational as Sam Ayala, Kit Carter, Ashton Garcia, Hector Garcia, Andrew Graciano, Izzak Mireles, Jon Rodriguez, Ravi Sharma and Xavier Weaver are set to compete this weekend.
 
AND WE'RE OFF
UC Irvine kicked off the 2017 campaign by going 3-0 in dual-meet scoring at the Pepperdine Invitational on Sept. 1. The Anteaters defeated CSUN, Long Beach State and Pepperdine. Sophomore Hector Garcia won the individual title, finishing the 5000-meter course in 15:41.97. He took the lead for good in the last 200 meters to beat Michael Merchan (CSUN) by nearly three seconds.
 
Senior Izzak Mireles came in third overall with a time of 15:52.13, while freshman Ravi Sharma was right behind him at 15:53.43 (4th). Junior Ashton Garcia (16:06.36) and sophomore Sam Ayala (16:14.63), rounded out the top-five for the 'Eaters as they were seventh and 10th, respectively.
 
"Our goal was to come in and race as a team, and we executed our plan," UCI distance coach Chris Evans said after the meet. "Hector was smart and patient to get the win, and Ravi was a real surprise as our third runner in his first collegiate race."
 
Also running for the Anteaters were junior Jon Rodriguez (16th, 16:29.78), freshmen Kit Carter (20th, 16:56.67) and Xavier Weaver (30th, 17:50.94), and junior Andrew Graciano (33rd, 18:01.75).
 
UCR INVITATIONAL REWIND
This is the second year in a row the 'Eaters will take part in the UC Riverside Invitational. In 2016, they placed seventh as a team, and Izzak Mireles was UC Irvine's second finisher, coming in 20th overall with an 8K time of 24:39.38. Hector Garcia (50th, 25:13.72) and Sam Ayala (77th, 25:31.41) rounded out the team's top five, while Ashton Garcia (25:40.50) and Andrew Graciano (26:46.14) also competed in last year's meet.
 
BIG WEST PREP
Saturday will mark the first of three meets for the Anteaters at the UCR Ag/Ops Course as they will be back in Riverside for the Highlander Invitational on Oct. 14 and the Big West Championships on Oct. 28. After being held in Kahuku, Hawaii, last season, the conference meet returns to the Inland Empire for the eighth time in the last 10 years.
 
"We have a lot of local races and we're really focusing on getting on that UC Riverside course where the conference championship will be held," Evans stated. "We're there for the UCR Invitational and Highlander Invitational, both of which give us a chance to race top-level competition and to get to know the course so when the Big West meet comes, we're ready with our game plan and how we are going to attack that course."
 
UP NEXT
UC Irvine returns to action on Saturday, Sept. 30, at the TMU XC Invitational (formerly known as the Mustang Challenge) in Santa Clarita. The men's 8K is slated for a 7:45 a.m. start.