CSUN Cross Country Competes At Highlander Invitational
10/16/2021 11:01:00 AM | Men's Cross Country, Women's Cross Country
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RIVERSIDE, Calif.---The CSUN Men's and Women's Cross Country teams wrapped up the regular season Saturday at the UC Riverside Highlander Invitational.
 MEN'S RECAP
Freshman Quinn Garity was the top finishing Matador. Garity recorded a time of 24:40.4 which was 25th overall with Garity being awarded 22nd-place points. His time is the fourth fastest by a CSUN runner at the Division I level dating back to the 2000 season on an 8k course. An unattached runner, Ayrton Ledesma was the overall winner (23:53.3) in a field of 290.
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Two other Matadors reached the CSUN top-10 as Noah Contreras ran a time of 24:45.3 (fifth in school history, 30th overall). Daniel Rodriguez went 24:45.7 (sixth quickest in school history, 31st overall). All three runners topped the previous best time by a CSUN runner on the UCR Ag Ops Course that was set by Geoffry Sarco (25:32) in 2014.
The CSUN Men at UCR.
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In a field of 26 teams, CSUN finished 11th (322). California Baptist (75) was the team winner.
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"All week Danny promised he would break the CSUN course record at UCR and the team was ready," said CSUN assistant coach Kevin Smith. "Danny is a pretty good prophet. What he didn't foresee that Quinn and Noah would break the record. The team's performance boosted our confidence as we head to the Big West Championship in two weeks."
WOMEN'S RECAP
Freshman Elin Markarian was the top finishing CSUN runner. She was awarded 112th place points as she ran 23:46.7. Markarian was 148th overall. 262 runners took time during the meet. An unattached runner, Jennifer Sandoval was the overall winner (19:58.8). As a team, the Matadors finished 23rd (651). Cal State Fullerton (35) won the team event.
CSUN in action at UCR.
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"Following a challenging week of training, our team saw many positive individual moments," Smith said. "With the Big West Championships in two weeks, we want our team to galvanize those moments into a team effort. Elin used the support of Sonia and Leann in her breakthrough race."
Next up for the Matadors is the Big West Championship. Set for Friday, Oct. 29, UC Davis will host the meet at the Wildhorse Golf Course. The men's race is set for 9 a.m. while the women's race will begin at 10 a.m.
