After a three-week layoff from competition, the University of Redlands cross country teams eagerly returned to action on Saturday, recording solid performances at the annual Pomona-Pitzer Invitational in Claremont. The women combined efforts for an overall seventh-place showing, while the men came in eighth in the team standings.
Redlands' women shined with five of them producing sub-25-minute times during the first 6K-race of the season.
Junior Della Lyle (Buffalo, WY) paced the Bulldogs with her time of 22:52.4 for seventh place overall. This was just 10 seconds off of her season-best time from a year ago.
Sophomore Lauren Roberts (Portland, OR) served as the Maroon and Gray's second runner, taking 33rd in 24:02.3. Following right behind her, freshman Jessika Snincsak (Rancho Cucamonga, CA) made her debut on the longer collegiate course a memorable one by crossing the finish line in 24:05.7 for 34th overall.
In addition, senior Vanessa Anchondo (Oceanside, CA) uncorked a career-best time of 24:18.2, improving upon her previous standard by more than 30 seconds.
Finally, freshman Kacie Williams (Porterville, CA) also competed on the 6K-course for the first time in her career with the Maroon and Gray, registering a time of 24:38.4.
On the men's side, the Bulldogs put together five sub-28-minute showings on the 8K-course, with freshman Scott Oseguera (Beaumont, CA) leading the charge. He placed 19th overall as the top Redlands harrier with a time of 26:08.8.
The Maroon and Gray's next two runners both improved their times from their last race on Sept. 14. Junior Chris Bolt (Reno, NV) shaved off nearly eight seconds for a mark of 26:40.9 for 37th place, while Abhinav Nagpal's (Cypress, CA) time of 27:03.9 was more than 40 seconds faster and landed him 59th overall.
With a 10-second improvement of his previous best, sophomore Nathan Meier (Riverside, CA) recorded the fastest time of his young career at 27:13.8.
Finally, sophomore Jarron Helbock (San Diego, CA) rounded out the top runners for Redlands with his time of 27:34.8, which also was a faster pace than he recorded three weeks ago.
The Bulldogs look forward to gearing up for the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) Multi-Duals on Friday, October 18, at La Mirada Park. First race begins at 4:30 p.m.