RIVERSIDE, Calif. – The Highlanders hosted the annual Highlander Invitational on Saturday morning at the Ag Ops Course, with both the women's and men's teams competing against a large field of programs from across the region.

WOMEN'S XC
UC Riverside women's cross country secured a strong fourth-place team finish in the invitational 6-kilometer race, totaling 176 points to finish just behind Utah Tech (155) and ahead of Arizona (176) on a tiebreaker. UC San Diego won the team title with 37 points, followed by CBU (84).

Isatu N'Diaye once again led the Highlanders, crossing the line in 19th place at 21 minutes, 03 seconds. Nicole Alfred followed in 30th at 21:17.2, while senior Ingrid Tamayo placed 31st in 21:17.3. Alexis Corvese added a 46th-place finish in 21:35.5, and Meztli Velazquez rounded out the scoring five in 56th at 21:43.7.

Anna Field (81st, 22:11.0), Marissa Hehir (85th, 22:15.1), and Victoria Valenzuela (115th, 22:31.2) contributed strong depth for the Highlanders, while Sophie Moser-Smith (186th, 23:29.7) and Lily Woolery (184th, 23:23.8) completed the lineup.

MEN'S XC
UC Riverside men's cross country placed 14th overall in the men's invitational 8-kilometer race, finishing with 388 points. Arizona claimed the team title with 36 points, followed by Grand Canyon (140) and CBU (142).

Eshaan Hussain led the Highlanders with a 38th-place finish in 24 minutes, 27 seconds. Baptiste Garderes followed in 55th at 24:38.2, while Jarron Chua crossed in 121st at 25:37.2. Jordan Herrera placed 137th in 25:46.0, and Logan Harding closed out UCR's scoring five in 145th at 25:53.7.

Freshman Juan Juarez (195th, 26:43.3) and Caleb Pascua (201st, 26:48.4) also competed for the Highlanders, helping the team post an average time of 25:17 across its top five runners.