Highlanders Place Fifth and Sixth at Cougar Challenge

Saturday, September 13

San Marcos, Calif.

UC Riverside

CSUSM Cougar Challenge

Highlanders Place Fifth and Sixth at Cougar Challenge

9/13/2025 11:28:00 AM | Cross Country

RIVERSIDE, Calif. – UC Riverside cross country turned in solid performances at the CSUSM Cougar Challenge on Saturday morning, as the women's team placed sixth and the men's team took fifth in their respective races.

WOMEN'S XC
The Highlanders scored 154 points in the 6-kilometer race to finish sixth overall.

Alexis Corvese led UCR with a 23rd-place finish in 21 minutes, 57 seconds, just ahead of teammate Nicole Alfred, who placed 24th in 21:57.1. Meztli Velazquez came through in 40th at 22:20.4, Anna Field was 43rd in 22:26.9, and Victoria Valenzuela finished 45th at 22:32.9.

Sophie Moser-Smith (48th, 22:40.6) and Zaida Velazquez (49th, 22:40.9) added strong performances.

MEN'S XC
The Highlanders tallied 150 points to secure a fifth-place finish in the 8-kilometer race.

Kai Marotta paced UCR in 36th at 25:47.8, with Eshaan Hussain right behind in 37th at 25:49.6. Baptiste Garderes placed 41st in 26:05.0, Jordan Herrera was 51st at 26:15.1, and Logan Harding closed the scoring in 65th with a time of 26:36.7.

UP NEXT
UC Riverside returns to the UCR Ag Ops Course on Saturday, September 27th as they host the annual UCR Invitational.