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Twelve Bruins Set Personal Bests in Strong Showing at Dellinger Invitational

by uclabruins.com
Sep 23, 2022

Springfield, Ore. – The UCLA Cross Country team wrapped competition at the 2022 Bill Dellinger Invitational early Friday afternoon. Five of the eight Bruin runners on the men's side set PRs in the race, cruising to a third-place finish (63 points) behind Oregon (39) and Portland (62). The women had seven runners set PRs out of the eight competing in the meet, and the Bruins finished seventh in the invitational.
 
Coach's Corner
 
"The guys ran exactly where we needed them to run," said assistant coach Sean Brosnan. "The overall goal is November when we get to the conference championships and regionals, so we're looking ahead to that. Today, we were able to knock off and compete with a lot of teams in the region – you know, we were ranked 14th in the region at the start of the season. Portland beat us by one point and they're ranked 15th in the country, so that's a pretty strong showing from our guys moving forward."
 
"It was a close meet between all the teams on the women's side, with tight competition from top to bottom," continued Brosnan. "Again, we're looking ahead towards November, and we have a lot of people we left home that will be scorers in those postseason meets. We're looking forward to good things coming."  
 
Rapid Recap
 
Redshirt junior Peter Herold paced the Bruins and finished the 8k course in 23:49.8 to secure fifth place in the race. Juniors Ronan McMahon-Staggs (23:54.5) and Michael Mireles (23:54.9) displayed great pack running and finished in eighth and ninth place overall, respectively. Freshman Andrew Martinez set a new personal best in his first 8k with the Bruins, completing the course in 24:26.2 to place 26th on the day. Sophomore Jake Parker (24:27.6) rounded out UCLA's scoring runners with a 28th-place finish.
 
Juniors Patrick Curulla (24:36.6) and Dylan Wilbur (24:44.5) set career-best times in the race and finished in the top-50 runners.
 
Senior Emma Tavella led the way for the Bruins for the second-consecutive week, crossing the line in the 6k race in 20:30.4 to set a personal best. Tavella finished 12th as UCLA's top scorer in a field of 74 competitors. Sophomore Mia Kane (20:59.1) trailed closely behind as the Bruins' second scorer, setting a PR in the early afternoon on Friday. Freshman Bella Browne set a personal best as she completed the 6k in 21:26.5. Seniors Gwyn George (21:32.5) and Sophia Hoelzel (21:34.8) were the remaining Bruins who scored for UCLA in the meet, finishing in 39th and 41st respectively. Junior Kate Tugman (21:36.6) was the final Bruin in the top-50 runners, coming in at 42nd. Junior Ashley Johnson (22:00.1) and sophomore Anna Weirich (22:06.4) also ran personal bests in the Oregon meet.
 
Notes on the Bruins
 

  • Tavella crossed the line as UCLA's top runner in her second-consecutive meet for the Bruins, leading the women's team in both the UCSD Dual Meet and at the Dellinger Invitational.
  • Herold returned as UCLA's top finisher after a strong 2021 campaign. The redshirt junior was the Bruins' top runner in each of the four races he ran during his sophomore season.

 
2022 UCLA Cross Country Schedule
 

  • Thursday, Sept. 1 – UCSD Dual Meet (Mammoth Lakes, Calif.)
    • Men: 1st (17 points)
    • Women: 1st (18 points)
  • Friday, Sept. 23 – Bill Dellinger Cross Country Invitational (Eugene, Ore.)
    • Men: 3rd (63 points)
    • Women: 7th (138 points)
  • Saturday, Oct. 15 – Weis-Crockett Invitational (Stillwater, Okla.)
  • Saturday, Oct. 15 – Highlander Invitational (Riverside, Calif.)
  • Friday, Oct. 28 – Pac-12 Championships (Los Angeles, Calif.)
  • Friday, Nov. 11 – NCAA West Regional Championship (Seattle, Wash.)
  • Saturday, Nov. 19 – NCAA Championships (Stillwater, Okla.)

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