Tigers Land Atop the Podium at CSU Fullerton’s Titan Invitational
The Riverside City College men's cross country team can be confused for a four-year power house on paper. In season's past, the Tigers have dominated all levels of play ranging from top NCAA Division I teams to fellow two-year competitors. For the first time this season, the Tigers stayed true to their past reputation.
The Tigers took on a handful of competitors at the CSU Fullerton Titan Invitational this afternoon. They took home the gold behind a trio of top-10 finishes and nine times clocking under the 26-minute mark.
"We had a great race today," said Head Coach Jim McCarron. "Most of the guys ran personal best times."
Riverside was without one of their strongest runners in Gavyn Condit, but the rest of the team carried the load with no issues. Two players landed in the top five and three in the top-10.
Mario Tavares and Abel Ramos had a photo finish race as they crossed the end line within two tenths of a second between one another. Tavares earned a 24:35.2 mark for fourth place, while Ramos finished with a 24:35.4 clip which was good for fifth place.
Freshman Raen Reyes sealed the top-10 with a 10th place finish at a time of 25:02.4. Jorge Castro missed the top-15 cut by hair after clocking in a finishing time of 25:28.0. Issac Umana rejoined the Tiger's top five runners with a 24th place mark of 25:45.5.
The top finish set the Tigers up well entering into the Orange Empire Conference (OEC) Championships next Friday. Riverside has hoisted the last four conference trophies and is the favorite to win this season.