NIPOMO, Calif. - The UC Irvine men's cross country team finished third at the season-opening Big West Preview Friday morning in Nipomo, California.
 
The meet was held at Blacklake Golf Course, which will also be the site of the 2023 Big West Championships in October.
 
"Today's race was a valuable experience for us," said UCI distance coach Casey Kear. "We got a good look at the conference championship course and a good portion of our Big West competition. It also gave us a great chance to integrate some new team members and see where we stand. We are in a good place to start the year but know we will be ready to run even better here on October 27."
 
Junior Lukas Amare led the Anteaters with his fourth career top-10 showing. Amare completed the 6K course in a personal-best 18:23.9 to place seventh in a field of 109 athletes.
 
Junior Joshua Schuld was next across the line for the 'Eaters as he clocked in at 18:44.8 to come in 24th. Classmate Zeid Hussain wasn't far behind in 25th with a lifetime-best 18:49.0.
 
Junior Cameron Smith was 34th at 18:54.7, while junior Juan Sanchez was right on his heels in 35th (18:54.8).
 
Junior Jacob Bustamante (19:06.7) and freshman Jimmy Markowicz (19:10.6) rounded out UCI's top-seven runners.
 
Juniors Henry McClish (19:15.0) and AJ Sager (19:41.9) also competed in the opener.
 
Host Cal Poly won the team title and the Mustangs' Spencer Pickren was the individual champion.
 
The Anteaters will have a week off from competition before heading to the Inland Empire for the UC Riverside Invitational on Saturday, Sept. 16.