Wildcats and Aztecs Victorious at UCR Highlander Invitational
Cross Country October 19, 2024
RIVERSIDE, Calif. – The Arizona Wildcat men and San Diego State Aztec women used the Highlander Invitational as a final prep for their conference meets in less than two weeks.
The Wildcat men will face some stiff team competition in their first appearance at the Big 12 meet as they travel to Waco, TX for the Nov. 1 festivities, but handled their business against a field of 20 teams at the venerable Ag-Ops Course at UC Riverside.
Coach Bernard Lagat has the UofA program improving rapidly, winning with 65 points. UC San Diego (72), The Master’s (78) and UC Irvine (108) followed close behind.
Freshman transfer Gideon Mengich, who ran track for Stephen F. Austin and was a regional qualifier in the 3,000-meter steeplechase last spring (8:51.55 PR), took the lead 600 meters into the race and cruised to a solo effort 23:42.8 victory on the 8-kilometer course.
Embry-Riddle standout Demetris Love Jr. continued his flashy Fall with a runner-up finish in 23:53.9. Jack Anderson (23:54.4) was The Master’s top finisher in third and was the only other runner under 24 minutes.
Robert Lusitana’s Aztec women placed four in the top 10 to easily outpace their intracity rivals UCSD 41-59. Arizona was third with 122. SDSU will head to the on-campus course Nov. 1 at Air Force Academy for the Mountain West Championships.
Sylvana Northrup won her first collegiate cross country race for UCSD, waiting patiently in the lead pack of six until the final 800 meters. The Triton standout ran 20:27.7 to pull away from Hannah Fredericks of The Master’s (20:34.3) on the 6-kilometer course.
From a field of 24 teams, Emily Van Valkenberg was the first Aztec across the finish line (3rd in 20:44.6), followed by teammates Vanessa Cabello (5th 20:51.7), Madeline Heller (8th 20:04.1) and Samantha Wood (10th 21:08.0).
Next up on the schedule for the Ag-Ops Course is the hosting of the Big West Conference Championships on Nov. 2.
Official Results:
By Matt Farmer