The University of Redlands cross country teams took on top competition at the UC Riverside Invitational on Saturday morning, earning solid results in the women's 5000-meter race and men's 8000-meter race.
Sophomore Maria Ramirez (Orange, CA) topped the charts for the Bulldogs with a time of 18:37.8 to finish 33rd overall in the non-Division I open. This was a 22-second improvement from last year's outing.
Freshman Desiree Cadena (San Jose, CA) and senior Kaylee Jorgensen (Claremont, CA) closely followed in 18:58.6 and 19:00.7, respectively. Jorgensen shaved off 16 seconds from her time in 2016.
Freshman Deena Kirrish (Fontana, CA) landed among the top 100 out of more than 240 racers by crossing the finish line in 19:42.7. Freshman Greta Jursch (Agoura Hills, CA) rounded out the Bulldogs' fastest five runners with a time of 19:57.1.
The Bulldog men took on an 8k course in the non-Division I open competition and the invitational race. Junior Joseph Esparza (Arcata, A) recorded the best time for the Maroon and Gray with his mark of 26:28.9 in the invitational. Junior Benjamin Casey (Highland Park, IL) followed in 26:38.4, while freshman Henry Tucker Cargile (Denver, CO) completed the race in 26:50.9. Seniors Sean Unger (Carlsbad, CA) and David Galindo (East Los Angeles, CA) finished out the team's top five with respective times of 27:03.2 and 27:20.2. Galindo's mark was more than a minute faster than his previous mark at the UCR Invitational.
In the open competition, sophomore Nolan Ridgeway (Long Beach, CA) paced the Bulldogs with his time of 27:22.0, while freshman Anthony Noble (Moreno Valley, CA) crossed the finish line in 27:58.1. Freshman Trevor Brouelette (Rancho Santa Margarita, CA) and freshman Quentin Olive-Larson (Fort Collins, CO) quickly followed in 28:04.2 and 28:12.9, respectively.
Redlands heads to the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) Multi-Dual Meet at La Mirada on Friday, September 29, at 4:30 p.m.