Bears Return To Action At USF Invite

SAN FRANCISCO -- California cross country returned to action Saturday at Golden Gate Park in San Francisco. 

The men's squad earned second-place with two student-athletes finishing in the top-10. Senior Colin FitzGerald led the squad, finishing in sixth with a time of 24:48.7. Next to cross the line for the Golden Bears was Freshman Garrett MacQuiddy, who clocked in at 24:50.9. Freshman Carrick Denker finished with a time of 25:06.6 to secure 14th-place and help the team clinch second-place. 

"I'm very pleased with their efforts today," Head Coach Bobby Lockhart said. "It was, for many, of them on the men's side, their first time out there. I thought they looked good, they finished well and I couldn't have asked for much more." 

Only four women ran the loop in Saturday's race, leaving California out of the running for a time title. In individual competition, senior Meredith Corda paced the squad, clocking 21:53.4 to secure ninth-place. "Meredith Corda ran an amazing race," Lockhart commented. "I'm really proud of her and how she did it and I'm happy to see her leadership out there." 

Next to cross the line for the women was senior Jessica Nye, who finished in 22nd-place with a time of 22:18.4. Freshmen Piper Wilson and Claire Yerby followed the upperclassmen, finishing in 45th and 48th-place, respectively. 

The Golden Bears have four weeks to prepare for their next competition at the Sacramento State Invitational in Rocklin, California on October 1st. 

"We're just training from here on out. We're going to start doing a few more workouts in the next couple of weeks to try and get ready for the rest of the season," Lockhart said. 

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