Cross Country Hosts Big West Championships

Saturday, November 2

Riverside, Calif.

8:30 A.M.

UC Riverside

Big West Conference Championship

Photo by: Carlos Puma

Cross Country Hosts Big West Championships

11/1/2019 10:15:00 AM | Men's Cross Country, Women's Cross Country

RIVERSIDE – The UC Riverside Cross Country teams will be hosting the Big West Championships taking place on Saturday, November 2. This will be the fourth time that UCR has hosted the championships in the last six years.

The Highlanders are led by senior Arman Irani who has been the steadfast in their competitions all season. In the team's last home meet, Irani placed fifth overall with a time of 24:23.43. He has been the team's top-finisher in every meet this season.

Sophomore Antonio Carbajal has been a consistent performer behind Irani as he has been the second finisher on two occasions with his best coming in the Highlander Invitational as he finished 26^th with a time of 25:04.87.

The team has gained momentum heading into the championships as both teams finished fifth at the Highlander Invitational; their highest finish all the season.

Director of Cross Country/Track and Field Nate Browne expressed his enthusiasm for the conference championships, "I'm excited as usual because we are the hosts (for the third time this season). Our kids are healthy, and they know our course the best. We've had consistently high-level workouts there and we expect them to be confident in the work they've put in."

On the women's side, the team has had strong performances from senior Emily Sanchez and junior Haley Cabrera. Sanchez has been the top finisher twice with her best performance also coming at the Highlander Invitational where she finished 14^th with a time of 21:31.59.

It bodes well for Riverside that the teams have had their best performances at their home course. The Big West has a multitude of strong teams that will be looking to show their force on the Ag/Ops course.

Assistant Coach Rob Hansen spoke about the opportunity of success that the teams have, "This is going to be an exciting Big West Championship. There is a log jam right in the middle and every point is going to count in the team score. We're certainly counting on everyone to do their job. If we execute like we expect to, then our athletes will be pleased with the result."

The Big West Championships will begin at 8:30 a.m. at the UCR Ag/Ops course.