NIPOMO, Calif. - UC Riverside competed at the Big West Championships on Friday morning with three All-Big West performers at Blacklake Golf Course in Nipomo. 

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Tyler Kaan was the Highlanders' lead runner at the 1k junction in 13th, followed in the top 20 by Ashraf Abdelmagid (16th) and Andrew Castellon (18th). Castellon jumped nine spots into the top 10 after another 1,000 meters while Joshua Mendoza jumped 14 spots into 20th. 
• Castellon continued to surge, vaulting UCR into a second place position 3,000 meters through while leading the Highlanders in fifth and later fourth place at the halfway point. Abdelmagid joined Castellon in the top 10, jumping three spots into seventh at the halfway point. 
• Both held down spots in the top seven with 2,000 meters remaining as Abdelmagid vaulted into third. The junior finished fourth to lead UCR with Castellon following closely behind in seventh.  
• Linda Perez maintained third place through a third of the women's race, followed by Collette Lowengrub (13th) and Dariana Miramontes (14th) in the top 15 - both of whom made jumps after the initial 1,000 meters. 
• Miramontes jumped into the top 10 after 4,000 and 5,000 meters while Perez locked down her spot in the top five. 

HIGHLANDER HIGHLIGHTS

• Perez, Abdelmagid and Castellon all earned All-Big West honors on Friday. Abdelmagid and Castellon won their first while Perez won her second. 
• Abdelmagid's fourth-place finish and new PR of 24:01.6 was UCR's best individual men's performance at the Big West Championships since Jonathan Lee in 2019 and the second time in the last three years that the leading Highlander male has finished in the top 10. 
• Castellon's top-10 finish of 24:14.1 was just five seconds off his personal best. 
• Perez earned her second consecutive top-five finish at the Big West Championships after her fifth-place finish in 20:43.5. 

UP NEXT

• UC Riverside will now compete at the NCAA West Regionals, held Friday, November 10 in Sacramento.