California Irvine Athletics

IRVINE, Calif. - The UC Irvine men's cross country team is ready to kick off the 2025 campaign next Friday. Get to know more about the 2025 squad ahead of the season-opening Vanguard Invitational, which will be held at Mason Regional Park in Irvine on September 5.

1. ON THE RISE
UC Irvine is looking to build off its best postseason finish in recent years. In 2024, the Anteaters placed fourth at the Big West Championships and were among the top-20 at the NCAA West Regional. They also made their way into the USTFCCCA Division I West Regional Top-15 Poll for the first time since 2012, and rose to as high as 13th, which was their best ranking in the current regional system that dates back to 2009. The 'Eaters return four letterwinners from that squad, while adding three true freshmen in 2025.
 
"We have seven on the men's side; it's a small group, but decent experience," UCI distance coach Casey Kear stated. "Then all three freshmen had pretty good high school cross country and track careers. They will have to come in and adjust quickly, but can make an impact too."
 
2. LEADING THE WAY
Sophomore Juan Chantaca leads the returning group as he was the Anteaters' top finisher in four of his five meets last year, including at the Big West Championships where he placed 14th overall. Chantaca also ran an 8K personal-record 23:51.4 at the UCR Invitational to rank third in program history. In addition to Chantaca, the 'Eaters bring back junior Jimmy Markowicz along with sophomores Angel Cordero and Omar Reyes.
 
"When Juan is at his best, he should be able to compete with just about anybody in the conference," Kear said. "He now has a full year under his belt since he's only a sophomore in cross, so I think he's ready to go."
 
3. MEET THE NEWCOMERS
Entering the mix this year are freshmen Ziyad Abdallah, Mark McAleenan Jr., and Javin Schmitt. Abdallah was a three-sport athlete at Trabuco Hills High School, competing in cross country, track, and soccer. In cross, Abdallah finished eighth at the 2024 CIF State Championships in a 5K personal-record 15:19.4. McAleenan prepped at Clovis East High School where he had back-to-back top-10 league finishes. Schmitt also had a standout senior season at Saint Mary's College High School, finishing 16th at the CIF State Cross Country Championships and claiming runner-up honors at the Tri-City Athletic League Championships.
 
4. STAYING LOCAL
The Anteaters are not hosting a meet this year, but they do kick off the campaign close to home at the Vanguard Invitational, which will be held at Mason Regional Park in Irvine. The meet is scheduled for Friday, Sept. 5, with the men's 8K at 8:45 a.m. UCI will also make the short drive to Riverside for two of its four regular season meets with the UCR Invitational (Sept. 27) and the Highlander Invitational (Oct. 18) both on the slate for the second year in a row.
 
"We're starting local with something really low key for our group to kind of get the season going and get our newcomers' feet wet," Kear said.
 
5. LOOKING AHEAD
In between the two races in Riverside, UC Irvine will travel to Springfield, Oregon, for the Bill Dellinger Invitational (Oct. 10). The Big West Championships then take place on Friday, Oct. 31, at Queen Kapi'olani Regional Park in Honolulu. The NCAA West Regional follows on Friday, Nov. 14, in Sacramento, with qualifying teams and individuals advancing to the NCAA Championships (Nov. 22) in Columbia, Missouri.