Results

BREA, Calif. - Juniors Hector Garcia and Sam Ayala both placed among the top-20 to lead the UC Irvine men's cross country team to a sixth-place finish at the Big West Championships Saturday at Carbon Canyon Regional Park.
 
The Anteaters' top-five scored 162 points, putting them just 28 points behind fifth-place Long Beach State. Cal Poly (32) claimed the team title and was followed by UC Santa Barbara (69), Cal State Fullerton (104) and UC Riverside (110).
 
"We were ranked right around sixth coming into the meet," UCI distance coach Chris Evans said. "We wanted to go after Long Beach and Riverside but they were just better than us today. We held off a hard charging UC Davis and Cal State Northridge. Sebastian and Sam stepped up well for us, they moved up really nicely in the last mile of the race and that secured our position."  
 
Hector Garcia led the 'Eaters for the fourth time this season. He covered the 8000-meter course in 25:16.2, which was good for 16th. It was Garcia's second-best 8K of the year.
 
Sam Ayala wasn't far behind in 19th with a time of 25:26.4. He made a significant jump over the last half of the race where he climbed 12 spots.
 
Freshman Sebastian Bautista (26:15.6) and senior Ashton Garcia (26:15.7) crossed the finish line together, taking 42nd and 43rd, respectively.
 
Freshman Christian Hernandez was UC Irvine's fifth scorer, clocking in at 26:51.5 for a 55th-place showing.
 
Sophomore Kit Carter (27:09.3) and senior Jon Rodriguez (27:55.3) rounded out UCI's lineup.
 
Cal Poly's Jake Ritter was the individual medalist at 24:27.5.
 
The Anteaters will now have two weeks to prepare for the NCAA West Regional, which will take place at Haggin Oaks Golf Complex in Sacramento on Friday, Nov. 9.


Big West Championships
Saturday, Oct. 27
Carbon Canyon Regional Park - Brea, Calif.

Men's 8K Team Results
1. Cal Poly - 32
2. UC Santa Barbara - 69
3. Cal State Fullerton - 104
4. UC Riverside - 110
5. Long Beach State - 134
6. UC Irvine - 162
7. CSUN - 166
8. UC Davis - 166

UC Irvine's Individual 8K Results (Out of 69)
16. Hector Garcia (25:16.2)
19. Sam Ayala (25:26.4)
42. Sebastian Bautista (26:15.6)
43. Ashton Garcia (26:15.7)
55. Christian Hernandez (26:51.5)
59. Kit Carter (27:09.3)
66. Jon Rodriguez (27:55.3)