DAVIS, Calif. - The University of California, Riverside (UCR) Cross Country team traveled north to the Wildhorse Golf Club for the 2021 Big West Cross Country Championships on Friday, October 29.

Head Coach Nate Browne said, "I am proud of this group and Coach Zach for getting acclimated to the team and conference. I'm really excited for what's next for this program from here. With a young group like this, our future is extremely bright."

A standout performance from Linda Perez in the women's 6k was the highlight of the day, with her fourth place 20:42.7 finish earning the freshman Highlander a place on the All-Big West Team.

Distance Coach Zach Newsom spoke of the 6K saying, "Linda obviously had an outstanding All-Big West performance today to lead our women to their best conference finish in several years."

The Highlander women finished fifth overall with 116 points (4-19-24-27-41-51*-56*).

Newsom continued, "Dariana Miramontes had a big 20 second PR. Collette Lowengrub and Carolinh Calvert both gutted out great races on a day where they weren't feeling their best physically. Norma, Victoria, and Sammie all executed what we asked them to. This team has laid an excellent foundation for what they can accomplish over the next few years and I'm excited to see this program reach new heights."

The men finished seventh overall in the 8K with 184 points (30-31-40-41-42-51*-52*).

On the 8K, Coach Newsom said, "Honestly, it wasn't what we hoped for out there today. We came in feeling like we had a good chance to finish in the top five but the race never came back to us like we hoped for." He continued, "As a coach, I'll take responsibility for that and while I'm disappointed in the outcome today, I'm not disappointed in our guys."

Freshman Ashraf Abdelmagid led the men's team, finishing 31st with a time of 25:00.8. Aiden Davis, also a freshman, crossed the tape right after Abdelmagid finishing 32nd with a time of 25.01.3.

A trio of Highlanders crossed the finish line next, with Joshua Mendoza coming in 43rd with a time of 25:12.7, Noah Murasmith finishing 44th at 25:17.3 and Sean Caster rounding out the group at 46th with a time of 25.22.0.

"We'll use today to make some adjustments and grow from it," Newsom said. "Fortunately," he continued, "We have another opportunity to race at the regional meet in a couple weeks and we'll look to end our season on a high note."

See full results here!

Women's 6K

4. Linda Perez (FR) 20:42.7 (4)
19. Dariana Miramontes (FR) 21:20.5 (19)
24. Collette Lowengrub (FR) 21:50.7  (24)
28. Carolinh Calvert (FR) 22:04.2 (27)
45. Norma Alvarez (FR) 22:36.3 (41)
58. Victoria Ervin (FR) 23:35.1 (51*)
64. Samantha Velazquez (SO) 24:14.4 (56*)

Men's 8K

31. Ashraf Abdelmagid (FR) 25:00.8 (30)
32. Aiden Davis (FR) 25:01.3 (31)
43. Joshua Mendoza (FR) 25:12.7 (40)
44. Noah Murasmith (FR) 25:17.3 (41)
45. Sean Caster (FR) 25:22.0 (42)
58. Jonathan Lee (SR) 26:24.5 (51*)
60. Justin Briscoe (FR) 26:28.8 (52*)
62. Felix Diaz 27:00.3