UC Irvine Cross Country Heads North For Bill Dellinger Invitational

Friday, October 9

Springfield, Ore. / Pine Ridge Golf Club

11:15 AM

UC Irvine

Bill Dellinger Invitational

UC Irvine Cross Country Heads North For Bill Dellinger Invitational

October 08, 2026 | Men's Cross Country, Women's Cross Country

Both Anteater squads look to build on their early-season performances as the women enter off a UCR Invitational title and the men continue their momentum in Oregon.

Bill Dellinger Invitational
Date: Friday, Oct. 9
Event: Men's 8K / Women's 6K
Time: 11:15 a.m. / 12 p.m.
Location: Pine Ridge Golf Club - Springfield, Ore.
Oregon Meet Information

IRVINE, Calif. - The UC Irvine men's and women's cross country teams head to Springfield, Oregon, for the Bill Dellinger Invitational, hosted by the University of Oregon on Friday, Oct. 9.

The Anteaters will compete at Pine Ridge Golf Club, with the men's 8K scheduled for 11:15 a.m., followed by the women's 6K at noon. The meet marks the 20th edition of the Bill Dellinger Invitational.

LAST TIME OUT
UC Irvine is coming off a strong showing at the UC Riverside Invitational on Sept. 19, where the women's team captured the 6K title and the men finished 11th in the 8K.

The Anteater women topped a 30-team field with 65 points, finishing 87 points ahead of runner-up Cal State Fullerton. Senior Emma Hadley led the way with an individual victory, clocking a personal-record 20:09.9 to win the 269-runner race by five seconds. Her performance moved her up six spots to No. 4 in program history.

The women's squad also recorded nine personal bests in the 6K, while the Anteaters finished second in the 5K Open with 96 points.

On the men's side, UC Irvine placed 11th with 315 points in the 8K Invitational. The result followed a runner-up team finish at the season-opening Aztec Coastal Classic in San Diego on Sept. 3.

CHANTACA LEADS THE WAY
Junior Juan Chantaca paced the Anteater men in his season debut at UC Riverside, finishing 16th out of 219 runners with an 8K time of 24:01.6. It was his third consecutive top-20 finish at the meet, where he set the school record of 23:38.4 in 2025.

Chantaca led UCI in all five races last fall and recorded the program's best NCAA West Regional individual finish since 1999, placing 32nd with a 10K personal-record 30:09.4.

YOUNG TALENT
Sophomores Javin Schmitt and Ziyad Abdallah both established personal records at the UCR Invitational. Schmitt finished 53rd in 24:39.6, improving his previous 8K best by more than 90 seconds, while Abdallah placed 55th in 24:41.0.

Five Anteater freshmen also made their collegiate 8K debuts. Nathan Wilber led the group in 25:07.4, followed by Owen Souther (25:17.6), Aiden Zavala (25:35.3), Braulio Castillo (25:36.0) and Nolan Calder (25:56.2).

SENIOR LEADERS
Hadley enters Friday's meet following her individual victory at UC Riverside. The senior, who holds UCI's indoor mile record, is coming off a 2026 track season in which she claimed the Big West 1500m title.

Fellow senior Kaia Schmidt brings championship experience after earning All-Big West cross country honors with a fourth-place finish at the 2025 conference meet. Schmidt also holds the school record in the steeplechase and won the event at the 2026 Big West Outdoor Championships.

Together, Hadley and Schmidt established 11 marks among UCI's all-time top-10 during the 2026 indoor and outdoor track seasons.

WOMEN'S DEPTH ON DISPLAY
Sophomore Grace Baxter joined Hadley among the top finishers at the UCR Invitational, taking fourth overall and third among collegiate athletes in a personal-record 20:27.7. The performance moved her to No. 7 on UCI's all-time 6K list.

Junior Cynthia Herrera and fifth-year transfer Sona Kourilova also posted personal bests of 20:41.4 and 20:43.5, respectively, to finish among the top 20.

BIG WEST CONTENDERS
The UC Irvine women continue their pursuit of the program's first Big West cross country championship since 2005. The Anteaters finished second in the conference last season after placing third in 2024 and earning runner-up honors in 2022.

UCI also enters the fall following a successful 2026 track campaign in which the women's program won its first MPSF Indoor Championship and second consecutive Big West Outdoor Championship.

ABOUT THE MEET
Hosted by Oregon, the Bill Dellinger Invitational brings collegiate cross country competition to Pine Ridge Golf Club in Springfield. The course features two relatively flat loops and is run entirely on grass, primarily along the golf course fairways.

The meet is named in honor of legendary Oregon coach Bill Dellinger, a three-time Olympian and bronze medalist in the 5,000 meters at the 1964 Olympic Games.

UP NEXT
The Anteaters return to Riverside for the Highlander Invitational on Saturday, Oct. 17, their final tune-up before the Big West Championships on Oct. 31 at the UCR Ag/Ops Course.