Results

RIVERSIDE, Calif. - UC Irvine women's cross country posted a top-five finish at the UC Riverside 6K Invitational Saturday morning at the UCR Ag/Ops Course.
 
The Anteaters took fourth out of 22 teams, and led all Big West schools, coming in ahead of host UC Riverside, Long Beach State, UC Santa Barbara and Hawai'i.  
 
Junior Hannah Chau led the way once again with a runner-up showing in a field of 170 athletes. Two weeks after establishing a 4,000-meter school record, Chau ran the second-fastest 6K in program history at 20:21.5. She improved her personal best by 23 seconds to move up two spots on the all-time list.
 
Chau got out with the lead pack, starting in 10th before making the jump into third by the 3-mile mark. She continued to push, passing Arizona's Grace Driskill down the stretch to claim runner-up honors. Chau's mark of 20:21.5 was just two seconds behind the individual winner Greta Karinauskaite of California Baptist. It was her second-straight top-three finish.
 
Freshman Anna Vogtmann was the next Anteater across the line, registering her second top-20 performance in as many collegiate races. She clocked in at 21:01.4 to place 19th overall. Vogtmann notched the ninth-best 6K time in school history.
 
Freshman Sameen Andar had a strong showing as well, coming in at 21:27.2 (34th), while junior Patricia Sanchez (21:52.3) and freshman Makena Castillo (21:53.3) also scored for the 'Eaters.
 
Freshman Olivia Liuson (21:54.6), sophomore McKenna Paulson (21:55.8), freshman Amber Rios (21:57.5) and sophomore Elizabeth Celada Padilla (22:10.2) rounded out UCI's lineup.
 
UC Irvine also competed in the 5K Open at UCR, placing third in the team standings. Sophomore Cathy Salazar-Gasca paced the Anteater contingent, coming in 14th out of 180 competitors with a time of 18:32.8. Freshman Montgomery Allison had her first collegiate top-20 finish, placing 17th overall at 18:40.9. Freshmen Lillian O'Rourke (18:46.5) and Hana Nip (18:53.0) followed in 21st and 26th, respectively. Freshman Maggie Sczupak, who was making her collegiate debut, was UCI's fifth scorer in 49th (19:22.7).
 
UC Irvine will now have a 28-day layoff before returning to Riverside for the Highlander Invitational on Saturday, Oct. 16.