Women’s Cross Country Earns First Win at Palomar Invite, Men Edged by El Camino
Five of the Tigers runners on the women's side landed in the top-10 at the Palomar Invitational on Friday morning to pace the field. A pair of runners landed in the top-five leading to Riverside hauling in a victory. The men placed second by a mere four points despite landing four runners in the top-10.
The course deemed challenging as Guajome Park in San Diego, CA presents a tough uphill battle – literally. With nearly a mile of uphill running, Riverside dug deep and handled the tough terrain.
Following a strong start to her 2019 campaign at the Redlands Invitational just a week ago, sophomore Emiliana Merida Cano placed second overall with a time of 20:05 to pace her team in a full 5K. Freshman Aeriel Madrigal followed in fourth place with a time of 20:36, backed by sophomore Ariel Martinez who finished with a mark reading 20:48 to earn sixth overall.
Freshman tandem Corrine Melendez and Briana Rodriguez finished consecutively. Melendez edged her out for ninth place with a time of 21:10, while Rodriguez crossed the finish line at a mark of 21:14.
The men were slightly bested by El Camino by finishing in second place. Freshman Jordan Wilson paced the Tigers for the second-straight week by finishing with a mark of 22:13 to earn seventh place. Sophomore Ricardo Cruz followed with an eighth place finish after crossing the finish line at a time of 22:13.
Freshman Alberto Lopez rounded out the top 10 with a mark of 22:19, while freshman Cody Patrick earned an 11th place finish with a time of 22:19.
The Tigers will continue action on Friday, September 13 at the SoCal Previews at Mission Bay Park at 10 a.m.