UCI Heads to Inland Empire for UC Riverside Invitational

Saturday, September 21

Riverside, Calif. / UCR Ag Ops Course

7:15 AM

UC Irvine

UC Riverside Invitational

makena-castillo-wxc-2024-ucr-invite-preview

UCI Heads to Inland Empire for UC Riverside Invitational

September 20, 2024 | Women's Cross Country

Live Results Meet Notes

UC Riverside Invitational
Date: Saturday, Sept. 21
Event: 6K / 5K
Time: 7:15 a.m. / 8:25 a.m. (PDT)
Location: UCR Ag/Ops Course - Riverside, Calif.

IRVINE, Calif. - The UC Irvine women's cross country team is back in action this weekend as it heads to the Inland Empire for the UC Riverside Invitational on Saturday, Sept. 21. The women's 6K is the first race of the day at 7:15 a.m., while the 5K is set for an 8:25 a.m. start. The Anteaters have 10 student-athletes entered in each race that will take place at the UCR Agricultural Operations Course.

QUICK HITS
• Saturday will mark UCI's eighth-straight appearance in the UCR Invitational.
• Last year, Anna Vogtmann placed third overall (20:19.0) to lead the 'Eaters to a fourth-place team finish in the 6K Invitational.
• The Anteaters checked in at No. 12 in the latest USTFCCCA West Region Rankings.
• The 'Eaters have 17 returners, including their top seven from the 2023 Big West and NCAA Regional meets.
• UC Irvine also brings in a large incoming group with 13 newcomers (11 freshmen).

REGIONAL RANKINGS
UC Irvine moved up two spots to No. 12 in the USTFCCCA West Regional Rankings released on Sept. 16. The Anteaters are one of five Big West schools featured as they sit behind No. 9 Cal Poly, No. 10 UC Davis and No. 11 UC Riverside, and are ahead of No. 14 UC San Diego.

LAST TIME OUT
UC Irvine cruised to a team victory at the season-opening Irvine Invitational at the Great Park on Friday, Sept. 6. The Anteaters, who co-hosted the meet with Concordia, finished with 20 points. They were 51 points ahead of the Eagles in second. The 'Eaters occupied seven of the top-10 spots in the individual standings. Sophomore Kaia Schmidt led the way in third, covering the 6K course in 22:03.7. Junior Makena Castillo was right on her heels in fourth, crossing the finish line in 22:05.2. Freshmen Daisy Penney (22:09.1) and Liana Lee (22:16.1) both had an impressive collegiate debut, placing fifth and sixth, respectively. Junior transfer Nicole Contreras also took seventh in her first race as an Anteater with a time of 22:19.1, while freshman Cynthia Herrera was eighth and freshman Anna Soares was 10th.

"It was good to get the team win," UCI distance coach Casey Kear said. "We had a good pack up front. Our top 10 to 12 were all very close together, giving us a lot more depth than we had last year. We still had a couple of our top runners not competing today so once we get them back to full strength, we'll be in a really good spot."

SENIOR LEADERS
Seniors Sameen Andar and Anna Vogtmann were two of the Anteaters that did not compete two weeks ago at the Irvine Invitational. Andar is a two-time all-conference performer, placing ninth at the Big West Championships in 2023 and sixth in 2022. She owns the 4K school record and ranks second in program history in the 6K (19:57.6). Vogtmann also earned All-Big West distinction after taking fifth in a 6K school-record 19:52.8 at the 2022 conference meet. Vogtmann will run the 6K Invitational on Saturday.

UP NEXT
UC Irvine has a few weeks off before traveling to the Pacific Northwest for the Bill Dellinger Invitational on Friday, Oct. 11. The meet will be hosted by No. 4 Oregon at The Pine Ridge Golf Club (Springfield, Oregon).