UCLA men’s cross country wins first place at the Aztec Invitational in San Diego
By Manny Redruello
Sept. 18, 2010 8:32 p.m.
The Aztec Invitational provided several UCLA freshmen the opportunity to hit the ground running ““ literally and figuratively.
After both the men’s and women’s cross country teams opened their seasons with victories two weeks ago at the Fullerton Season Opener, the Bruins headed to San Diego to compete in the Aztec Invitational at Balboa Park today.
Although UCLA’s top runners did not make the trip to San Diego, the Bruins didn’t skip a beat. UCLA slid past Northern Arizona by one point and captured first place in the men’s 8-kilometer race with an overall time of 2:11:48.20.
“David McDonald ran well, we know David,” coach Johnny Gray said. “As far as the other guys, we’re learning about them, and they all ran according to what we expected. We were impressed.”
McDonald, a junior, finished in fourth place and led the Bruins with a time of 26:01.
Other Bruins finishing in the top 15 were freshmen Jacob Wood (26:10.3), Mohammed Charara (26:27.8) and Daniel Rosales (26:30.1), who finished in ninth, 13th and 14th place, respectively.
Freshmen Joel Ambo (26:39.0) and Sean Colaco (28:12.7) also competed in the event, as well as sophomore Alec Govi (26:42.8).
Competing in the women’s 5-kilometer race was a trio of Bruin freshmen. Caitlin Schmitt (19:41.9), Kristina Rivera (20:20.6) and Rachel Butler (20:59.5) finished in 43rd, 60th and 69th place, respectively.
Of the 10 Bruins who competed on Saturday, all but three ““ McDonald, Rosales and Govi ““ were making their debuts.
Gray said that the victory, garnered by a team composed mainly of freshmen, is an indication of the depth on this year’s roster.
“That’s something we didn’t have last year,” Gray said of the talent level. “This is what we’re excited about this year: the depth we have as a team in both men’s and women’s.”
Such a deep roster likely means more competition within the team, which should prove beneficial as the season wears on.
“Now we have more guys that can help push the team in training,” Gray said. “And when we have enough depth, then that gives you more of a team to use to help make you better ““ help push you, to help motivate you.”
The Bruins will get a chance to see the effects of that training when they head to Palo Alto next weekend where they will compete in the Stanford Invitational on Sept. 25.
