The UCSD cross country team held its own at the biggest meet of the year this weekend.
Guardian
The Tritons compared their mettle to other teams of equal caliber at the California Collegiate Athletic Association Championships in Turlock, Calif. this weekend.
The men finished in third place out of seven schools while the women took fourth out of 11 schools.
The top men’s team was UC Davis, which was unstoppable with only 21 points. Second place was another team from the North, California State University Chico, which tallied 48 points.
“”They definitely dominated,”” Ted Van Arsdale said. “”They have a high standard and good traditions in both genders. There were some tough runners on Saturday, it’s just that they were tougher. Davis is the class of the Western Region.””
The Tritons were well behind the top two schools, clinching their third place title with 95 points. Cal State Stanislaus was fourth with 123 points.
UCSD’s men were led by a number of underclassmen on the 8,000-meter course.
The top Triton finisher was freshman Julian Nahan. Nahan finished 17th in a time of 26:06.
Right behind Nahan was sophomore teammate David Dunbar in 18th in a time of 26:07. The third UCSD finisher was junior Jonathan Wong in 24th with the time 26:26. The fourth Triton was sophomore Ana Shapiro in 27th with a 26:33. On Shapiro’s heels was freshman Nik Bringlason, who ran a 26:35 for the 28th spot.
The overall top men’s runner was Davis’ Jeff Kaiser, who ran the course in 24:53. Davis and Chico dominated the top spots, taking the first eight positions and 13 of the top 14.
On the women’s side it was a similar story.
UC Davis dominated, taking the top spot with a untouchable 23 points. Second place was Chico with 61 points and third saw Cal State Los Angeles with 124.
UCSD was not far behind, placing fourth with 131 points. Sonoma State was in close pursuit, gathering 138 points for fifth place.
“”Some of our women did a terrific job,”” Van Arsdale said.
The Tritons’ Mary Peate, who has been performing well all season, finished seventh despite that she was suffering from a cold.
The top Triton women finishers for the 6,000-meter competition were also dominated by youth.
Sophomore Audrey Sung came in 16th in a time of 23:13. The second Triton finisher was sophomore Caren Jordan in 18th at 23:14. The third finisher from UCSD was freshman Emily Vala-Haynes.
Senior Amy Kitchen was the fourth Triton finisher in 35th overall with a 23:56. Fifth place for UCSD went to the Tritons’ junior Amy Wu, who finished 27th overall in 24:03.
Next up for UCSD is the NCAA Division II Western Regional Championships at Chino on Nov. 3.
