Redlands Cross Country Takes on Top Competition at the UC Riverside Invite

Vanessa Anchondo and Della Lyle led the Bulldogs to a seventh-place showing at the UCR Invite (photo credit: Beth Doolittle).
Vanessa Anchondo and Della Lyle led the Bulldogs to a seventh-place showing at the UCR Invite (photo credit: Beth Doolittle).
Posted: Sep 14, 2013

Two weeks after opening the 2013 season, the University of Redlands cross country teams made the quick trip to UC Riverside for another invitational meet.  While competing against various levels of teams, including NCAA Division I and II, as well as private running clubs, the Bulldogs fared well with the men taking 12th overall and the women finishing seventh.  Multiple veterans posted faster times than a year ago and the newcomers shined for the Maroon and Gray.

On the men' s side, junior Chris Bolt (Reno, NV) shaved off about two minutes from his 2012 time to finish as Redlands' top harrier.  He completed the 8k-course in 26:48.5 for 25th  place overall.  Sophomore Nathan Meier (Riverside, CA) also improved his time from last season by nearly two minutes, clocking in at 27:23.0 on Saturday morning. 

Freshman Abhinav Nagpal (Cypress, CA) quickly followed with a time of 27:46.8 as the Bulldogs' top newcomer. 

Making his 2013 season debut, sophomore Jarron Helbock (San Diego, CA) crossed the finish line in 28:50.0. 

Senior Derik Harrison (Aurora, CO) rounded out the Maroon and Gray's top-five runners with his mark of 29:19.4, which was about 20 seconds faster than last year's performance.

For the women, Redlands finished as the second-fastest Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) school among the six of them competing at the meet.  Junior Della Lyle (Buffalo, WY) led the Bulldogs with her 27th-place time of 18:44.4 on the 5k-course.  This season's effort was about 11 seconds faster than her 2012 showing.

In addition, senior Vanessa Anchondo (Oceanside, CA) completed the race in 19:18.3, while freshman Jessika Snincsak (Rancho Cucamonga, CA) quickly followed her at 19:22.7. 

Trimming off 30 seconds from a year ago, sophomore Lauren Roberts (Portland, OR) crossed the finish line in 19:45.4, while freshman Kacie Williams (Porterville, CA) wrapped up the team's top five with her mark of 21:27.0.

Redlands looks forward to competing on Sat., Oct. 5, when it travels to Claremont for the Pomona-Pitzer Invitational at 8:30 a.m.