UC Irvine Prepares for Capital Cross Challenge

Saturday, September 29

Haggin Oaks Golf Complex - Sacramento, CA

9:50 AM PT

UC Irvine

Capital Cross Challenge

UC Irvine Prepares for Capital Cross Challenge

September 26, 2018 | Men's Cross Country

Capital Cross Challenge
Date: Saturday, Sept. 29
Event: Men's Collegiate 8K
Time: 9:50 a.m. (PDT)
Location: Haggin Oaks Golf Complex - Sacramento, Calif.
Live Results // Notes (PDF)

IRVINE, Calif. - The UC Irvine men's cross country team travels to Sacramento this weekend for the Capital Cross Challenge on Saturday, Sept. 29. The 8000-meter race is slated for a 9:50 a.m. start at Haggin Oaks Golf Complex. The 'Eaters will be joined by several other Big West schools in Northern California, including CSUN, Long Beach State and UC Davis.

STORYLINES
• Haggin Oaks Golf Complex is also the site of the 2019 NCAA West Regional.
• Junior Hector Garcia was UC Irvine's No. 1 runner at both the Mark Covert Classic and UCR Invitational.
• Garcia ran an 8000m season-best 24:49.4 at UCR, which is tops on the team by 39 seconds.
• Senior Ashton Garcia owns the Anteaters' second-best 8K time at 25:28.4.
• Junior Sam Ayala missed the first two meets of the season and is expected to make an impact upon his return.
• UC Irvine finished fifth at the Big West Championships last year.
• Hector Garcia earned all-conference honors in 2017 and is one of the top four returners in the Big West.
• The 'Eaters have six underclassmen, four of whom are true freshmen.

LAST TIME OUT
• UC Irvine finished 12th overall at the UC Riverside Invitational on Sept. 15.
• Hector Garcia (24:49.4) led the 'Eaters, taking 22nd out of 172 runners in the 8000m race.
• Dating back to last year, Garcia has now been the Anteaters' No. 1 finisher in four-straight meets.
• Ashton Garcia was next to cross the finish line, clocking in at 25:28.4 to place 57th.
• Senior Jon Rodriguez registered a time of 26:02.7 (96th) to round out UCI's top-three performers.
• Sophomore Kit Carter established a new personal record at 26:14.8.
• Three of UC Irvine's freshmen saw time improvements from the season-opening Mark Covert Classic.
• Sebastian Bautista led the trio at 26:03.2, and was followed by Gabriel Ramirez and Christian Hernandez.

CHAMPIONSHIP PREP
• UCI will get an early look at both the Big West Championship and NCAA West Regional courses this year.
• The 'Eaters ran the Carbon Canyon Park course (Big West) at the Mark Covert Classic on Sept. 1.
• They will also make their way to Haggin Oaks Golf Complex (NCAA) for the Capital Cross Challenge on Sept. 29.

QUOTABLES
Distance Coach Chris Evans on the team's last outing at the UCR Invitational:
"Hector definitely improved upon his performance from two weeks ago. He was much more competitive in the second half of the race. As a team, we need to work on our second to fourth runners. They need to be closer to Hector if we want to finish higher as a team."

UP NEXT
• UC Irvine returns to Riverside in two weeks for the Highlander Challenge on Saturday, Oct. 13.
• That will be the Anteaters' final tune-up before the Big West Championships (Oct. 27).