Big West Championships
Date: Saturday, Nov. 2
Event: Men's 8K
Time: 8:30 a.m. (PDT)
Location: UCR Ag Ops Course - Riverside, Calif.

IRVINE, Calif. - UC Irvine men's cross country heads to Riverside for the 2024 Big West Championships on Saturday, November 2. The men's 8K race is scheduled for an 8:30 a.m. start at the UCR Agricultural Operations Course.

Representing the Anteaters at the conference meet are Jacob Bustamante, Juan Chantaca, Zeid Hussain, Jimmy Markowicz, Caleb McDaniel, Omar Reyes, AJ Sager, Juan Sanchez, Joshua Schuld and Cameron Smith.

CHAMPIONSHIP REWIND
UC Irvine finished seventh at last year's Big West Championship meet in Nipomo, California. Host Cal Poly defended its crown for the program's 19th conference title. The Anteaters have won nine Big West Championships with the last one coming in 1991. They have had an All-Big West performer (top-10) in each of the last two seasons.

REGIONAL RANKINGS
UC Irvine was 15th in the USTFCCCA Division I West Region Rankings that were released on Sept. 30 and Oct. 7. It was the first time the Anteaters made their way into the top-15 since 2012.

VETERAN SQUAD
UC Irvine has nine returners, including six who are either fourth or fifth year seniors. Cameron Smith and AJ Sager joined the Anteaters in 2020-21, while Jacob Bustamante, Zeid Hussain, Juan Sanchez and Joshua Schuld came in together in 2021-22. The large graduating class is looking to lead UCI to its best conference and regional finish in recent years.

MAKING THEIR MARK
Five current 'Eaters rank among the top-10 in 8K program history. This year, Juan Chantaca ran a personal-record 23:51.4 on the Big West Championship course at the UC Riverside Invitational (Sept. 21) to sit at No. 3 among the Anteaters' all-time leaders. Jacob Bustamante (24:16.1) and Cameron Smith (24:18.8) have also run lifetime bests in 2024 to rank eighth and 10th, respectively. Two years ago, Zeid Hussain tied the school record at 23:47.0 and Joshua Schuld ran the No. 7 time in program history (24:15.0).

FRESHMAN SENSATION
Redshirt freshman Juan Chantaca has placed among the top-20 in all three of his races this season. In his first collegiate cross country race, Chantaca claimed runner-up honors after completing the Irvine Invitational 8K at the Great Park in 25:10.9. He was named the Big West Men's Cross Country Athlete of the Week for his effort. Two weeks later in Riverside, Chantaca improved his personal best by over a minute as he clocked the third-fastest time in program history at 23:51.4. On October 5, he also took fourth out of 279 with a time of 23:56.6 at the Charles Bowles Invitational.

LAST TIME OUT
UC Irvine finished fourth at the Highlander Invitational on Saturday, October 19. Jacob Bustamante led the 'Eaters with a career-best seventh-place showing. Bustamante clocked a personal record for the second meet in a row, crossing the finish line in 24:16.1 to move up to No. 8 among UCI's all-time leaders. Zeid Hussain added a top-20 performance with a time of 24:43.2. Cameron Smith was also 22nd at 24:46.0, while Joshua Schuld (25:09.8) and Juan Sanchez (25:21.8) rounded out the Anteaters' top-five scorers. 

UP NEXT
UC Irvine will travel to Colfax, Washington, for the NCAA West Regional on Friday, Nov. 15.