UCR Invitational
Date: Saturday, Sept. 27
Event: 8K Invitational
Time: 7:50 a.m. (PDT)
Location: UCR Ag Ops Course - Riverside, Calif.

IRVINE, Calif. - The UC Irvine men's cross country team is back in action on Saturday, Sept. 27, when it heads to the Inland Empire for the UC Riverside Invitational. All seven Anteaters are entered in the 8K Invite that is slated to start at 7:50 a.m. at UCR's Agricultural Operations Course.

QUICK HITS
• UCI won the team and individual titles at the Vanguard Invitational (Sept. 5).
• Juan Chantaca was named the Big West Athlete of the Week on Sept. 9.
• The 'Eaters return four letterwinners and add three true freshmen in 2025.
• The Anteaters placed fourth at the 2024 Big West Championships.
• Last year, UCI made its way into the USTFCCCA Division I West Region Rankings for the first time since 2012.

LAST TIME OUT
UC Irvine took home both the team and individual titles at the season-opening Vanguard Invitational on Friday, Sept. 5. Five Anteaters placed among the top-10 in the 8K race at Mason Regional Park in Irvine. Sophomore Juan Chantaca finished ahead of the pack with a meet-record 24:05.8. Freshman Ziyad Abdallah had an impressive collegiate debut, crossing the finish line in fourth at 24:57.4. Sophomore Jimmy Markowicz added a personal-best 25:01.7 to come in fifth, while freshman Mark McAleenan Jr. was sixth at 25:18.1. Sophomore Omar Reyes rounded out UCI's top-five in ninth with a time of 25:34.6.

BIG WEST ATHLETE OF THE WEEK
Sophomore Juan Chantaca earned his second career Big West Men's Cross Country Athlete of the Week award on September 9. Chantaca led wire-to-wire in a 35-second victory at the Vanguard Invitational. Chantaca, who earned his first collegiate win, clocked an 8K meet-record 24:05.8 to top the field of 37 athletes. In his first race of the year, his time was just 15 seconds shy of his PR that he established at the 2024 UCR Invitational.

BACK ON COURSE
Juan Chantaca is the Anteaters' top returner. He had a pair of top-five showings during the 2024 regular season as he came in second at the Irvine Invitational and fourth at the Charles Bowles Invitational. He also ran the third-fastest 8K in program history with a career-best 23:51.4 at the UC Riverside Invitational. In addition, the 'Eaters welcome back junior Jimmy Markowicz, and sophomores Angel Cordero and Omar Reyes. Reyes had a strong finish to his freshman cross country season, running an 8K best of 24:44.9 at the Big West Championships.

ENTERING THE MIX
UC Irvine adds three true freshmen in 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 with 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 that culminated with a 16th-place finish at the CIF State Cross Country Championships.

UP NEXT
UCI will head to Springfield, Oregon, for the Bill Dellinger Invitational on Friday, Oct. 10.