Friday, November 10
Sacramento, Calif.
11:00 AM
UC Irvine
at
NCAA West Regional
Men's Cross Country Ready for NCAA West Regional
November 08, 2023 | Men's Cross Country
IRVINE, Calif. - The UC Irvine men's cross country team continues postseason action on Friday, Nov. 10, when it heads to Sacramento for the NCAA West Regional. Seven Anteaters are entered in the men's 10K that is scheduled for an 11 a.m. start at Arcade Creek Cross Country Course at Haggin Oaks Golf Complex.
Competing for the Anteaters are Lukas Amare, Jacob Bustamante, Zeid Hussain, Jimmy Markowicz, Juan Sanchez, Joshua Schuld and Cameron Smith.
QUICK HITS
• UCI finished 20th at last year's NCAA West Regional in University Place, Washington.
• Lukas Amare led the 'Eaters with his first career sub-30-minute 10K.
• Amare clocked a personal-record 29:51.3, which is tied for third in program history.
• Five 'Eaters competing on Friday ran the 10K at Haggin Oaks Golf Complex as freshmen at the 2021 NCAA Regional.
LAST TIME OUT
UC Irvine finished seventh with 141 points at the Big West Championships in Nipomo, California, on Friday, Oct. 27. Lukas Amare paced the Anteaters as he covered the 8K course in 24:17.8 to place 10th overall. Cameron Smith had a career-best Big West showing, coming in 20th with a time of 24:40.4. Jacob Bustamante was next across the line for UCI in 34th (25:16.4). Joshua Schuld (25:21.4), Juan Sanchez (25:23.6), Jimmy Markowicz (25:36.9) and Zeid Hussain (25:47.2) rounded out the team's top-seven.
PACK LEADER
Junior Lukas Amare, who has led UC Irvine in all four of its races, has three top-20 and two top-10 finishes in 2023. Most recently, Amare placed 10th at the Big West Championships to earn all-conference distinction for the second year in a row. He was also seventh at the season-opening Big West Preview and 16th at the UC Riverside Invitational. The Diamond Bar, California, native ran an 8K season-best 24:09.5 in the latter event to earn his first career Big West Athlete of the Week award. Amare currently ranks third in school history in both the 8K (23:56.0) and 10K (29:51.3).
TOP-10 DEBUT
Junior Cameron Smith joined three of his teammates on UCI's 8K all-time list with a personal-record 24:16.2 at the UC Riverside Invitational. Smith's time ranks seventh in program history. Last year, junior Zeid Hussain tied a school record at 23:47.0, while Amare made his way up to No. 3 at the 2022 Big West Championships. Junior Joshua Schuld is also sixth with a PR 24:15.0, which he ran at the 2022 UCR Invite.
THE ROOK
UC Irvine's Jimmy Markowicz will be running his first career 10K in his NCAA West Regional debut. Markowicz has competed in all four of the Anteaters' meets as a true freshman and ran an 8K season-best 25:10.6 at the Bronco Invitational on Oct. 14. The San Diego native prepped at St. Augustine High School where he was the 2022 Eastern League cross country champion and won three league titles in the 1600m on the track.
UP NEXT
Qualifying teams and individuals will make their way to Charlottesville, Virginia, for the NCAA Championships on Saturday, Nov. 18.
Competing for the Anteaters are Lukas Amare, Jacob Bustamante, Zeid Hussain, Jimmy Markowicz, Juan Sanchez, Joshua Schuld and Cameron Smith.
QUICK HITS
• UCI finished 20th at last year's NCAA West Regional in University Place, Washington.
• Lukas Amare led the 'Eaters with his first career sub-30-minute 10K.
• Amare clocked a personal-record 29:51.3, which is tied for third in program history.
• Five 'Eaters competing on Friday ran the 10K at Haggin Oaks Golf Complex as freshmen at the 2021 NCAA Regional.
LAST TIME OUT
UC Irvine finished seventh with 141 points at the Big West Championships in Nipomo, California, on Friday, Oct. 27. Lukas Amare paced the Anteaters as he covered the 8K course in 24:17.8 to place 10th overall. Cameron Smith had a career-best Big West showing, coming in 20th with a time of 24:40.4. Jacob Bustamante was next across the line for UCI in 34th (25:16.4). Joshua Schuld (25:21.4), Juan Sanchez (25:23.6), Jimmy Markowicz (25:36.9) and Zeid Hussain (25:47.2) rounded out the team's top-seven.
PACK LEADER
Junior Lukas Amare, who has led UC Irvine in all four of its races, has three top-20 and two top-10 finishes in 2023. Most recently, Amare placed 10th at the Big West Championships to earn all-conference distinction for the second year in a row. He was also seventh at the season-opening Big West Preview and 16th at the UC Riverside Invitational. The Diamond Bar, California, native ran an 8K season-best 24:09.5 in the latter event to earn his first career Big West Athlete of the Week award. Amare currently ranks third in school history in both the 8K (23:56.0) and 10K (29:51.3).
TOP-10 DEBUT
Junior Cameron Smith joined three of his teammates on UCI's 8K all-time list with a personal-record 24:16.2 at the UC Riverside Invitational. Smith's time ranks seventh in program history. Last year, junior Zeid Hussain tied a school record at 23:47.0, while Amare made his way up to No. 3 at the 2022 Big West Championships. Junior Joshua Schuld is also sixth with a PR 24:15.0, which he ran at the 2022 UCR Invite.
THE ROOK
UC Irvine's Jimmy Markowicz will be running his first career 10K in his NCAA West Regional debut. Markowicz has competed in all four of the Anteaters' meets as a true freshman and ran an 8K season-best 25:10.6 at the Bronco Invitational on Oct. 14. The San Diego native prepped at St. Augustine High School where he was the 2022 Eastern League cross country champion and won three league titles in the 1600m on the track.
UP NEXT
Qualifying teams and individuals will make their way to Charlottesville, Virginia, for the NCAA Championships on Saturday, Nov. 18.
Players Mentioned
/ Men's Cross Country
/ Men's Cross Country
/ Men's Cross Country
/ Men's Cross Country
/ Men's Cross Country
/ Men's Cross Country
/ Men's Cross Country
𝐋𝐨𝐜𝐤𝐞𝐝. 𝐋𝐨𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐝. 𝐋𝐚𝐜𝐞𝐝 𝐮𝐩.
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