Nine Bears Set Personal Records At UCR Invite

RIVERSIDE – California men's and women's cross country collected nine personal bests at the UCR Invitational on Saturday morning. The men's squad took 16th-place overall while the women's squad notched 18th. The team raced the same course that will be the venue for the Pac-12 Championships in October.
 
"It was great to preview the course before we tackle it again in six weeks," Cal head coach Bobby Lockhart said.
 
On the men's side, the top four Cal-scorers all set personal records in the 8,000-meter race. Garrett MacQuiddy was the first Golden Bear to cross the line, finishing in 24:22.6 to take 31st place. Landen Lee finished shortly thereafter, taking 39th place with a time of 24:28.
 
"I thought Landen Lee and Garrett MacQuiddy had good showings," Lockhart said. "They ran patient and closed well."
 
Caden Carney rounded out the top three for the Bears, posting a 24:59.3 time and placing 89th to help the squad clinch the 16th place team finish. Rowan FitzGerald was the fourth Bear from the men's squad to set a personal best, recording a time of 25:14.7. Donning the Blue & Gold for the first time was John Sesteaga, who ran his collegiate debut in 25:39.7.
 
The women's squad recorded five personal bests on Saturday morning. Ellie Black was the top women's finisher for Cal for the second-straight meet. Black posted her personal record time of 21:01.2 and claimed 31st place overall.
 
"Ellie Black keeps impressing us," Lockhart said. "She's just getting going, and I see no reason she won't continue to make significant jumps."
 
Next to cross the line in 82nd place was Georgia McCorkle, who made her collegiate debut at the UCR Invite and ran the 6,000-meter race in 21:46.7. Claire Yerby made her season debut at the meet and claimed her personal record time of 22:04.6 to take 106th place overall.
 
Also setting personal records in the 6,000-meter run at the UCR Invite were Natalie Weiner (22:18.9), Carolina Dawson (22:29) and Lauren Calcagno (23:16.2).
 
"Unfortunately, we're still battling through sickness and a handful of student-athletes are coming off injury, but better now than later," Lockhart added. "We have four weeks until our next competition so we have plenty of time to work past these setbacks."
 
UP NEXT
The Bears will now take a four-week hiatus from competition following the UCR Invite. The teams will race next at the Bronco Invite in Santa Clara on Oct. 15.
 
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