Cougars Cross Counry Fares Well at UC Riverside Invite

RIVERSIDE, Calif. — The College of the Canyons men's and women's cross country team participated in last weekend's UC Riverside Invite, competing against a field of runners primarily hailing from four-year schools. At the event, the women's team finished 15th among the field of 23 teams, while the men placed 13th in the field of 29 programs.

Sophomore Rodrigo Ornelas led all COC runners with a time of 25:06 in the 8K men's race, good enough for 35th overall among the 239 entered athletes. Cougars Ashton Garcia placed 71st with a time of 25:44, with Ethan Walker finishing not far behind with a mark of 25:49 to finish 75th.

On the women's side sophomore Dominique Dowell finished 51st in the field of 172 runners, turning in a time of 22:25. Freshman Shalyn Mabritto also fared well on the 6K course with a 67th place time of 22:38. Amanda DeJesus rounded out the Canyons tops 3 with a 90th place time of 22:55.

The University of Minnesota won the Invitational men's team title with a score of 43 points. Southern Utah University placed second (48 points) and UC Santa Barbara took third place (97 points).

The women's Invitational team title was taken by Utah Valley University (95 points), with second and third place going to UC Santa Barbara (113 points) and UC Riverside (129) respectively.

College of the Canyons will next compete in the So Cal Preview, being held Friday, Sept. 19 at Woodley Park in Van Nuys.