Irvine Invitational
Date: Friday, Sept. 6
Event: Men's 8K
Time: 9 a.m.
Location: Great Park - Irvine, Calif.
*Spectator parking available in Lot 4

IRVINE, Calif. - The UC Irvine men's cross country team is set to open the 2024 campaign by co-hosting the Irvine Invitational with Concordia on Friday, Sept. 6. The meet will be held at the Great Park with the men's 8,000-meter race scheduled for a 9 a.m. start. 

The Anteaters' entire 11-man roster is slated to compete on Friday.

QUICK HITS
• For the third time in the last four years, UCI will kick off the campaign with a home meet.
• This is the first time during that stretch the season-opening meet will be held off campus at the Great Park.
• The 'Eaters have a veteran squad with nine returners, including six seniors.

"We have as experienced of a group as we've probably ever had, which can translate to really strong races at the 8K and 10K distances," sixth-year UCI distance coach Casey Kear said. "We have a couple really strong additions who can add to the strong foundation of guys returning so I'm really excited to see what they can do."
 
LAST YEAR, BEST YEAR
Of UC Irvine's nine returners, six are either fourth or fifth year seniors. The group has seen individual success with Zeid Hussain tying the 8K school record at 23:47.0, and Joshua Schuld sitting at No. 6 in program history. Schuld also enters the season with the top 10K time among the Anteaters' active roster with a personal-best 30:35.3. In 2024, the seniors will be looking to put it all together for their best Big West and NCAA Regional finish in recent years.

"Our challenge over the last couple years has been having their best races on the same day," Kear said. "We've kind of taken turns of people having good days and bad days so I'm hopeful this fall we can be a little more consistent across the board and leave their legacy as a big group graduating."

ON THE RISE
Sophomore Juan Chantaca missed the 2023 cross country season but is coming off a strong outdoor track campaign in the spring. Chantaca ran the second-fastest 5K among Big West freshmen with a time of 14:29.19. Sophomores Jimmy Markowicz and Caleb McDaniel also return with a year of the collegiate distances under their belt.

ENTERING THE MIX
UC Irvine adds a pair of true freshmen to its roster for the 2024 season. Omar Reyes, who prepped at El Camino High School in Oceanside, finished fourth at the CIF State Cross Country Championships last year. He was also the 2023 CIF-San Diego Section champion and won the 2022 North County Conference Coastal League title. Angel Cordero was a two-time cross country league champion at Olympian High School. In addition, he was a standout on the track where he claimed four-straight league titles and two CIF-SDS championships in the 800m.

UP NEXT
UC Irvine heads to the Inland Empire for the UC Riverside Invitational on Saturday, Sept. 21. The meet will be the Anteaters' first look at the UCR Ag/Ops Course, which is the site of the 2024 Big West Championships.