CEDAR CITY, Utah - The Southern Utah University men's and women's cross country teams head west to Riverside, Calif., Saturday for the UCR Invitational hosted by the University of California, Riverside. It is the Thunderbirds' second race of the season following their opener in Orem for the Utah Valley University Invitational.
Head Coach Isaac Wood said,
"This opportunity has got us really excited. We've had some great weeks of training after the Utah Valley race, and we are excited to go out and compete this weekend."
"On the men's, we've had a hard time deciding a whole lot about our team, cause all 17 of these guys train together and work together, so we'll learn about where we are at from a depth perspective as well this weekend, and it's really exciting for us. We have high expectations for how we'll perform and compete here, and I'm looking forward to watching it. The women's team has battled some minor injuries and illness, but we are coming around and looking forward to seeing them compete for one another."
UCR Invitational
What: UCR Invitational hosted by the University of California, Riverside.
When: Race day is Saturday, with the women's 6K beginning at 8:15 a.m. MST, with the men's kicking off shortly after at 8:50 a.m. MST.
Where: UCR Agricultural Operations Course, Riverside, Calif.
Who: University of California, Irvine, UC Riverside, Fresno State University, and Utah Tech University
Scouting the Field
The Thunderbirds will face a trio of West Coast schools: UC Irvine, whose men's team finished second and whose women's team placed third at the Aztec Coastal Classic. The host UC Riverside defeated the University of California, Los Angeles in both a men's and women's duel.
Fresno State, whose men's team took a third-place finish, followed by its women's team in fourth at the Gaucho Classic. SUU will also face off against in-state rival Utah Tech, which took a second- and third-place finish for its men's and women's teams, respectively, at the NAU George Kyte Classic.
Last Time Out
SUU kick-started the season Sept. 4 at the UVU Invitational; the men's and women's teams both had strong showings, with the women collecting a fourth-place finish and the men locking in a third-place finish, both out of a field of eight.
Senior Logan Peel led all SUU runners, posting a new personal best of 14:26.2 and placing 12th. Three more Thunderbirds followed closely behind: Tyler Saunders (14:29.03), Parker Barnes (14:29.97), and Amit Cohen (14:30.7), finishing 14th, 15th, and 17th, respectively.
Angelina Lione led the Thunderbird with a 16:45.25, which landed her a 14th-place finish. Junior Audrey Hales crossed the line next for SUU with a 17:35.32 to finish 25th.
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