CROSS COUNTRY ‘mdash; Traveling without several of its top upperclassmen, the UCSD cross-country team looked to a pair of sophomores to lead the way.
Sophomores Jeremy Riley and Elena Inouye led the men’s and women’s teams as the Tritons ran strong at the University of Southern Indiana Pre-National Invitational on Sept. 26. Embarking on their longest trip yet this season, the meet allowed UCSD to preview the course that will be site to the NCAA Division II Cross Country Championships in late November.
‘Elena Inouye and Jeremy Riley, as sophomores, did a really nice job leading our team,’ head coach Nate Garcia said. ‘They put themselves in a position where they showed that they weren’t in any way intimidated by the high-caliber athletes that were out there.’
Riley completed the 8K course in 26:52 to finish 24th overall. Running without last week’s top finisher, senior Mike Wright, the team’s newcomers became the focus of the race: Four freshmen rounded out the top five for the Tritons. Tom Hudson finished 34th with a time of 27:24, and Matt Lenehan was two spots back, placing 36th. Taylor Hogshead and Matt Yankowski took 59th and 75th, respectively.
The Tritons totaled 204 points to place eighth overall against a field that included four nationally ranked squads. No. 12 Stonehill College had four of the top 10 runners on the men’s side, and went on to win the meet. Host and No. 9 Southern Indiana took second overall in the meet.
The Triton women were without All-American junior Bre Schofield, who did not travel due to illness. Nevertheless, the team pulled off a solid performance in her absence, with reigning CCAA Freshman of the Year Inouye as UCSD’s top individual finisher for the first time in her career. Inouye ran the 6K course in 23:28 and took 17th place overall. She was followed by junior Caprice Thompson and senior Marie Schaper, who finished one second apart to take 30th and 31st, respectively. The top five was rounded out by juniors Brianna Alban and Nina Su.
According to the U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association, five of the competing teams ranked in the top 25. The UCSD women’s team’s total score of 148 points was good for sixth place overall against the stellar field.
With all five of its runners in the top 10, No. 13 University of Tampa claimed the women’s title, while host and No. 11 USI placed second.
‘As a team, I feel like we raced well,’ Garcia said. ‘It can always be somewhat challenging to go on the road and travel to a setting where we aren’t really familiar. I feel like our group handled that really well and I was pleased with the results.’
Garcia added that he and his coaching staff always choose runners to travel based on who is most prepared to represent the university.
‘It just happened that this week it was a very young group,’ Garcia said. ‘It was a fun experience being able to take a younger group back to Indiana.’
The Tritons return home to prepare for the San Diego Track Club USATF 5K on Saturday, Oct. 3. The team will try to use the shorter-distance competition to help prepare for the high-profile Triton Classic the following week.
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