IRVINE, Calif. - The UC Irvine men's cross country team returns to action this weekend as it travels to Sunnyvale, California, for the Bronco Invitational on Saturday, Oct. 14. The men's 8K is slated for an 8:45 a.m. start at Baylands Regional Park.

QUICK HITS
• Ten Anteaters are entered in Saturday's race.
• Four of those 10 ran PRs on the same course at last year's Bronco Invite.
• Zeid Hussain led the way as he tied the 8K school record at 23:47.0.
• UC Irvine's roster features eight returners and three true freshmen.

LAST TIME OUT
UC Irvine was last in action at the UC Riverside Invitational on Sept. 16. The 'Eaters finished seventh out of 22 teams. Lukas Amare was UCI's top runner as he covered the 8K course in 24:09.5 to place 16th. Cameron Smith followed with a personal-record 24:16.2, which puts him at No. 7 in school history. Zeid Hussain wasn't far behind with a time of 24:29.6, while Joshua Schuld (24:41.4), Jacob Bustamante (24:57.7), Juan Sanchez (25:09.7) and Henry McClish (25:24.3) rounded out the Anteaters' top seven.

BIG WEST ATHLETE OF THE WEEK
Junior Lukas Amare was named the Big West Men's Cross Country Athlete of the Week on Sept. 19. He was recognized for his performance at the UC Riverside 8K Invitational where he placed 16th overall, 12th among collegiate athletes and was the top Big West finisher with a time of 24:09.5. It was his second-straight top-20 showing and sixth of his career. Last fall, the Diamond Bar, California, native earned All-Big West honors with a seventh-place finish at the conference championships where he clocked a personal-record 23:56.0 to rank third in program history. He continued to run at an elite level at the 2022 NCAA West Regional where he shattered his 10K PR at 29:51.3. That mark is tied for third among UCI's all-time leaders, making him the first 'Eater to enter the program's top-10 at that distance since 1987. 

RIDING THE MOMENTUM
In addition to Amare, UC Irvine has a handful of returners who are continuing to build off breakthrough moments from last year. During the 2022 cross country season, Zeid Hussain tied the 8K school record with a PR 23:47.0 at the Bronco Invitational. Joshua Schuld also placed among the top-25 at the conference meet and ran the sixth-fastest 8K in school history (24:15.0). On the track, Jacob Bustamante took fourth in the 10K at the Big West Championships, while Cameron Smith scored in the steeplechase and 5000m. Smith also cracked UCI's all-time top-10 with a PR 8:58.24 in the steeple.

THE ROOKIES
UC Irvine has three incoming freshmen with impressive high school credentials. Juan Chantaca was a CIF State Championship qualifier in both cross country and track at San Clemente High School. Jimmy Markowicz, who prepped at St. Augustine High School in San Diego, was the 2022 Eastern League cross country champion, while he also won three league titles in the 1600m on the track. Caleb McDaniel was Mission Viejo High School's Distance Athlete of the Year after finishing second at the Sea View League Finals and advancing to the CIF State Cross Country Championships.

UP NEXT
UC Irvine will send a small group of student-athletes to the John Elders Invite at Cal State Fullerton on Friday, Oct. 20, before heading to Cal Poly for the Big West Championships on Friday, Oct. 27.