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Cross country teams show improvement from 2015 in Pac-12 championships

Sophomore Julia Rizk and the women’s cross country team took seventh place at the Pac-12 championships, a two-place improvement over last year’s finish. (Kelly Ma/Daily Bruin)

By Cole Baldecchi

Oct. 29, 2016 3:10 p.m.

The temperature reached over 90 degrees after the UCLA cross-country team hit the trails early Friday morning.

The men’s team came into the Pac-12 championships ranked 10th in the nation and left Tucson with a third-place conference finish, the best point total for the team since 1982.

The women’s team finished seventh in the event, an improvement from last-year’s ninth-place showing.

“Our men’s team is deeper than we have ever been,” coach Forrest Braden told UCLA Athletics earlier in the week.

At the helm has been senior Ferdinand Edman, who once again paced the men’s team and finished 5th out of all competitors in the eight kilometer race.

Senior Jonah Diaz, redshirt freshman Colin Burke and senior Austin O’Neil followed in 10th, 11th and 12th place respectively.

Junior Daniel De La Torre finished 20th and was followed by freshman Garrett Reynolds and sophomore Jackson Marshall.

On the women’s team, five of the top seven finishers were underclassmen. That was also without freshman Claire Markey, who paced them in its last event, and did not compete.

Sophomore Julia Rizk, who came in second at the Bruins’ last meet, led the team with a time of 21:30 in the six kilometer race, good enough for 29th place overall. She was followed by last year’s leader, sophomore Carolina Johnson, who came in 34th.

Freshmen Sophie Baird and Cassie Durgy finished behind Johnson, placing 44th and 49th respectively. Junior Roni Yamane rounded out the top five for UCLA, placing 55th.

The next test for both Bruin teams will be the NCAA Regional Championships on Friday, Nov. 11 at Sacramento State University. If they can clear that hurdle, the NCAA National Championships await in Terre Haute, Indiana.

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Cole Baldecchi | Alumnus
Baldecchi joined the Bruin as a sophomore in 2015 and contributed until 2016. He spent time on the men's golf, women's golf and cross country beats.
Baldecchi joined the Bruin as a sophomore in 2015 and contributed until 2016. He spent time on the men's golf, women's golf and cross country beats.
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