UC Riverside Invitational
Date: Saturday, Sept. 18
Event: 8K
Time: 7:50 a.m.
Location: UCR Ag/Ops Course - Riverside, Calif.
Live Results: FinishedResults.com

Notes - Meet #2

IRVINE, Calif. - UC Irvine men's cross country is back in action this weekend as it heads to the Inland Empire for the UC Riverside Invitational on Saturday, Sept. 18. The men's 8,000-meter race is scheduled for a 7:50 a.m. start at the UCR Ag/Ops Course.
 
The Anteaters have nine student-athletes entered in their second meet of the 2021 campaign. Lukas Amare, Christian Hernandez, Zeid Hussain, Henry McClish, Joshua Ochoa, AJ Sager, Juan Sanchez, Joshua Schuld and Cameron Smith will be running their first 8K of the year after starting the season with the Anteater Opener 6K on Sept. 1.
 
QUICK HITS
• Eight of UC Irvine's nine student-athletes will be competing in their first career 8,000-meter race.
• UCI's 12-man roster features four true freshmen and five freshmen from the canceled 2020 campaign.
• Six Anteaters had the opportunity to compete during the 2021 outdoor track & field season.
• The 'Eaters kicked off their 2021 cross country slate two weeks ago with the program's first home meet since 2015.
 
LAST TIME OUT
UC Irvine fielded a team of nine, with eight making their collegiate debuts, two weeks ago at the Anteater Opener (Sept. 1). It was UCI's first cross country meet since November 2019 and its first home meet since 2015.
 
"It was a race of firsts for us; our top-eight finishers were all in their first collegiate cross country race," said distance coach Casey Kear. "I was really happy with their effort. I thought they did a lot of good things, and we know we can still run a whole lot better, so it was a great start as a young group."
 
Lukas Amare was the Anteaters' top finisher, completing the 6000-meter course in 19:02.6 to come in ninth. Joshua Schuld was right behind him in 10th at 19:07.4. Cameron Smith added a top-15 showing with a time of 19:15.7, while Henry McClish (19:27.5) and Juan Sanchez (19:34.4) rounded out the squad's top-five.
 
THE RETURNERS
• UC Irvine has three returners with prior collegiate cross country experience.
• Junior Sebastian Bautista leads the small contingent as he was UCI's top finisher in five of his six meets in 2019.
• Bautista established personal records in both the 8K (25:39.43) and 10K (33:11.2) as a sophomore.
• Junior Christian Hernandez and sophomore Jason Messner are also back from the 2019 squad.
• Bautista and Messner did not compete in the Anteaters' 2021 season-opening meet.
 
THE NEWCOMERS
• Lukas Amare, Cameron Smith, AJ Sager, Henry McClish and Joshua Ochoa joined the 'Eaters in 2020.
• They saw their initial freshman cross country season canceled, but all made their collegiate debuts two weeks ago.
• UC Irvine has also added true freshmen Jacob Bustamante, Zeid Hussain, Joshua Schuld and Juan Sanchez.
• Hussain and Schuld were teammates at Beckman High School in Irvine.
• Schuld was named the 2021 Orange County Boys' Cross Country Athlete of the Year.
• Hussain captured the 3200m title at the 2021 CIF-Southern Section Division I Track & Field Championships.
• Bustamante, who did not compete at the Anteater Opener, was also a three-time CIF-SS Cross Country finalist.
 
UP NEXT
The Anteaters will have a few weeks to prepare for their next meet when they head back to the UCR/Ag Ops Course for the Highlander Invitational on Saturday, Oct. 16.