Cross Country Heads up North for NCAA Regionals

Friday, November 15

Colfax, Wash.

11:30 P.M.

UC Riverside

NCAA West Regionals Championship

Photo by: Carlos Puma

Cross Country Heads up North for NCAA Regionals

11/14/2019 7:38:00 AM | Men's Cross Country, Women's Cross Country

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COLFAX, Wash. – The UC Riverside cross country teams pack up their gear and will be making the trip to the state of Washington for the NCAA Regionals in Colfax. The Regional is hosted by Washington State on November 15; the women's 6k will be at 11:30 a.m. while men's 10k will be at 12:30 p.m.

To qualify, UCR had to have strong performances at the Big West conference championships; and the team was up to the challenge. The men's side had an outstanding showing as they had two top-5 finishers for the first time in school history.

Junior Jon Lee had his most triumphant performance of his young career as he finished third overall with a run of 24:34.72. Lee's finish in the Big West was the first top-3 finish since 2014 for Riverside.

The other top-5 finish came from senior Arman Irani who has been 'Mr. Consistent' for the team all season. Irani finished fifth with a time of 24:40.96. It was the first time in 10 years that UCR has had two top-10 finishers.

Sophomore Antonio Carbajal ran a strong race as he placed 17^th with a run of 25:27.57. He was followed by senior James Sever who finished 31^st while running for a time of 26:06.00. Finishing 37^th and 38^th was sophomore Isaac Acosta and junior Austin Dai, respectively.

As the temperatures aren't anticipated to be ideal during the race, assistant coach Rob Hansen believes the team is up for the challenge.

"With the temperatures expected to be in the 40s, this will be uncharacteristic for our group this season. But our athletes love to respond to adversity," Hansen said. "The energy and positivity from the men has been great!"

For the women in the Big West championships, they were led by their steadfast Emily Sanchez who finished 23^rd overall in the 6k with a time of 21:43.71. Not far behind Sanchez was her top running mate, Haley Cabrera, who finished 34^th with a time of 22:03.26.

Another solid performance came from junior Kylie Atwood and seniors Samantha Poliakon and Leslie Rivera. The group ran steadily together as Atwood finished 43^rd while Poliakon came in 47^th and Rivera in 52^nd.

Hansen believes the women's preparation this week has been paramount for their upcoming challenge.

"The ladies have had a tremendous couple of weeks training and are looking to move past a few Big West teams, "he said. "There are a few groups in our quadrant, we believe, that we can move past."

Footage from the Big West Championships can be found here.

Director of Cross Country/Track and Field Nate Browne is excited to see how the teams compete in Colfax.

"We have been looking forward to this trip since they announced the location awhile back," Browne said. "I'm looking forward to our kids mixing it up well in some tough conditions."