CSUN Begins Cross Country Season Friday at Big West Preview

WHAT'S COMING UP FOR CSUN MEN'S AND WOMEN'S CROSS COUNTRY
EVENT 1
CSUN at Big West Preview
Friday, Sept. 1 • Women-8:30 a.m. • Men-9:15 a.m. •
Nipomo, Calif. • Blacklake Golf Resort
Live Stats //

IN-GAME UPDATES @CSUNTFXC

THE START
CSUN opens its 50th season of men's cross country and its 46th season of women's cross country competition on Friday when the Matadors travel to the Big West Preview. The race will be held on the same course that the Big West Championship will be conducted on in October.

All Big West teams except Cal State Bakersfield, Cal State Fullerton, Hawai'i, and UC San Diego will run in the meet. Joining the Big West teams are Cal State Monterey Bay and Westmont.

The women's race begins at 8:30 a.m., while the men's race begins at 9:15 a.m. Live stats for each race will be available on GoMatadors.com.

LOOKING AT THE CSUN MEN
The Matadors return 10 letter winners on the 13-man roster. CSUN features a pair of graduate students, Noah Contreras and James Moore. Contreras returns to cross country after not competing during the 2022 season. He is a veteran of two Big West and one NCAA West Regional meets during his career. Moore charted the second-quickest CSUN 10k time in school history during the 2022 West Region (31:05.6).

Junior Daniel Rodriguez is a two-year letter winner who posted the fifth fastest 10k time by a Matador at the Division I level, a 31:40.3, at the 2022 NCAA West Regional.

Sophomore Camilo Torres broke the CSUN 10k Division I school record as he ran 30:57.7 at the NCAA West Regional a year ago (the previous record was 31:19.5, which Angel Alcantar recorded during the 2014 NCAA West Regional). He was the top finishing Matador at the Big West Championship, running 24:54.4 (28th).

Cesar Cuevas, Atticus Hall, Balmore Montes, Luis Silva, Ja'Patrick Smith, and Kai Smith return to the Matadors after gaining valuable experience during the 2022 campaign.

Joining CSUN this season are freshmen Yaseen Sardar and Ethan Smith and junior college transfer Ramiro Mateos. Sardar, a Burroughs High School graduate, finished second in the 2.93-mile race at the 2021 CIF-SS Division 4 Finals with a prep-best time of 15:23.5 and qualified for the state meet.

Smith, a 2023 graduate of Folsom High School, qualified for the CIF State Cross Country Championships as a junior. Mateos is a junior who qualified for a pair of CA Cross Country Championships during his career at Ventura College.

LOOKING AT THE CSUN WOMEN
The Matadors featured 10 competitors on the roster, eight returning letter winners. Sophomore Nicole Contreras was the top CSUN performer at the 2022 Big West Championships, running 22:10.5.

Junior Elin Markarian was the top-finishing CSUN entry at the 2022 NCAA West Regional. On the 6k course, she ran 22:11.3, the 10th best time by a Matador at the Division I level, and she lowered her 6k personal best by nearly 11 seconds.

Senior Ouanessa Nana and juniors Sonia Avila and Leann Hamilton have each lettered twice for CSUN. Mariah Changco, Faith Mora, and Rachael Simpson lettered for the Matadors in their first season on the squad last season.

A pair of junior college transfers, Vanessa Avila and Sakura Divecchio, complete the CSUN roster. Avila qualified for the CCCAA State Cross Country Championships in both of her seasons at Moorpark College, running a career-best 3.1-mile time (19:45.7) at the 2021 state meet. Divecchio earned East Los Angeles College's first All-South Coast Conference honor (second-team) since 2015, when she finished ninth at the 2022 SCC Championships. She placed 37th at the 2022 CA SoCal Cross Country Championships in a career-best time of 19:45.6.

~#GoMatadors~

CSUN Begins Cross Country Season Friday at Big West Preview

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Players Mentioned

Sonia Avila

Vanessa Avila

Mariah Changco

Nicole Contreras

Noah Contreras

Cesar Cuevas

Sakura Divecchio

Atticus Hall

Leann Hamilton

Elin Markarian

Ramiro Mateos

Balmore Montes

James Moore

Faith Mora

Ouanessa Nana

Daniel Rodriguez

Yaseen Sardar

Luis Silva

Rachael Simpson

Ethan Smith

Ja'Patrick Smith

Kai Smith

Camilo Torres