'Eaters Prepare for Saturday Meet in Santa Clarita

Saturday, September 30

Santa Clarita, CA

8:30 AM

UC Irvine

TMU XC Invitational

'Eaters Prepare for Saturday Meet in Santa Clarita

September 28, 2017 | Women's Cross Country

at The Master's University XC Invitational
Date: Saturday, Sept. 30
Event: Women's Collegiate 5K
Time: 8:30 a.m. (PDT)
Location: Central Park - Santa Clarita, Calif.
Meet Info

THIS WEEK
The UC Irvine women's cross country team will make its way to Santa Clarita's Central Park for the 6th annual Master's University XC Invitational (formerly known as the Mustang Challenge) on Saturday, Sept. 30. The 5000-meter race is scheduled to start at 8:30 a.m.

Seven Anteaters are entered in Saturday's collegiate 5K - Keely Boyd, Brenda Dorantes, Amy Flores, Anastasia Karnaze, Olympia Martinez, Megan Mirkhanian and Jenessa Reyes.

MEET REWIND
This is the fifth year in a row that UCI will be competing in The Master's University XC Invitational. Last year, the 'Eaters topped the NCAA Division I field with 17 points. Anastasia Karnaze led the way, finishing first among Division I athletes, and fifth overall, with a time of 17:58.5. Brenda Dorantes also came in 30th (19:00.7), while Hallie Pullum was 41st (19:17.6).

AND WE'RE OFF
UC Irvine finished 14th against NCAA Division I teams two weeks ago at the UC Riverside Invitational (Sept. 16). For the second time in as many meets, sophomore Anastasia Karnaze was the Anteaters' top runner, placing 90th out of 220 overall competitors. She covered the 6000-meter course in 21:59.2.

Senior Jenessa Reyes crossed the finish line next for the 'Eaters, clocking in at a career-best 22:30.7 (135th). Sophomore Keely Boyd was also 150th overall (22:44.7), and junior Megan Mirkhanian was 162nd with a personal-record 23:08.1. Sophomore Brenda Dorantes was right behind her at 23:12.9, while freshman Amy Flores (24:35.9) and senior Olympia Martinez (24:46.3) rounded out UCI's top seven.

On Sept. 1, UC Irvine went 4-1 at the season-opening Pepperdine Invitational, defeating USC, Bakersfield, CSUN and Pepperdine, while falling to Long Beach State. Karnaze took fourth with a career-best 14:58.71 over the 4000-meter course.

SOPHOMORE CORE
The Anteaters have three sophomores who have been among the team's top five finishers in each of the first two races. Anastasia Karnaze led the way at both the Pepperdine Invitational and UC Riverside Invitational, while Keely Boyd was UCI's third runner at both meets. Brenda Dorantes was also fourth and fifth, respectively. All three established personal records in the 4K at Pepperdine.

MAKING A STATEMENT
Senior Jenessa Reyes has made an immediate impact in her first cross country season at UC Irvine. At the Pepperdine Invitational, Reyes passed two of the Waves' runners down the final stretch to give the 'Eaters a 26-29 victory over the host school. She was also UCI's second finisher at the UC Riverside Invitational with a 6K time of 22:30.7. Reyes came to Irvine from Orange Coast College last year but only competed in outdoor track & field.

BIG WEST PREP
In two weeks, the Anteaters will be back in Riverside for the Highlander Classic on Oct. 14. It is the second of three races at the UCR Ag/Ops Course this year as they also took part in the UCR Invitational (Sept. 16) and look ahead to 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," distance coach Chris Evans said. "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."