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Cross country finishes 4th, 8th at Pac-12 championship with help of back-half runners

Redshirt junior Andy Ehrenberg finished 32nd overall in the 8K with a time of 24:00.7. His top-five finish for the Bruins helped propel the men of UCLA cross country to a fourth-place finish, after finishing sixth last year. (Don Liebig/UCLA Athletics)

By Vinny Lavalsiti

Nov. 3, 2019 4:48 p.m.

Earlier this week, redshirt senior Robert Brandt said the Bruins needed to reduce the gap in their spread, and two new faces rose to the challenge.

UCLA cross country’s men’s and women’s teams placed fourth and eighth, respectively, in Monmouth, Oregon, on Friday in the Pac-12 Cross Country Championship. Though Brandt placed fifth overall to earn first-team all-conference honors, he didn’t post the top performance of the day.

Rather, it was the finishes from the back half of the No. 10 UCLA men’s spread that Brandt considered crucial to the Bruins’ finish in a field of five top-20 teams.

“That was the highlight of the day,” Brandt said. “We didn’t really have an all-around strong day from our usual four and five in (redshirt junior Chris Morzenti and redshirt senior George Gleason). We had (redshirt senior Millen Trujillo, redshirt junior Andy Ehrenberg and junior DJ Lawson) step up really well. I think it’s just a testament toward the direction of this program.”

Trujillo placed fourth for the Bruins – his highest placing in the rotation this season – and Ehrenberg made his first appearance in the top-five UCLA finishers. Lawson finished two places behind Ehrenberg for his best result in the men’s unit this season as well.

Ehrenberg said he was influenced by UCLA’s usual fourth and fifth runners – Morzenti and Gleason – who set the precedent of taking risks in races.

“The goal going into the race, especially for people like me who haven’t really been in the top five this season, was to just put ourselves up there,” Ehrenberg said. “Take a little risk … right around (2000 meters) to go, just the right amount of pain you sort of question whether you’ll be able to finish, but then close it out.”

Ehrenberg said his best performance in years felt reassuring as the number of collegiate races left in the redshirt junior’s schedule is starting to dwindle.

“Going into the race, there was a chance that this was going to be my last cross country race ever,” Ehrenberg said. “It feels amazing to have the opportunity to compete at 10K and have the opportunity to contribute to the team again … (it) made all the hard work this season worth it (and) confirmed to myself that I can contribute to this team in a positive way.”

 

Three quarters through the five loops on the Ashcreek Preserve course, Colorado’s Joe Klecker asserted himself in the pack, leading the group of front runners by roughly eight seconds. Brandt made his move to equalize Klecker’s performance, and the final 800-meter stretch became a seven-man race with Brandt in the middle of the pack.

However, with the finish line looming in the distance, Brandt said he ran out of gas.

“I had to chase back to get back up to (Klecker),” Brandt said. “It was a really long straightaway to the finish, which was mentally pretty tough … I was definitely feeling it. I need to work on finishing stronger.”

Senior Garrett Reynolds and redshirt senior Colin Burke followed Brandt to finish 10th and 11th overall, respectively, earning second-team all-conference awards.

The two have been coupled together in every race this season, with six places separating them at most.

“It’s really nice to have somebody like (Reynolds) where we’re pretty much equal ability,” Burke said. “We push each other and we know we’re on the same team so I wouldn’t even call it a competition, but it’s good to have somebody running with you at all times and knowing you have a teammate to fall back on if you’re not feeling well one day, and vice versa.”

Next, the Bruins will compete at the NCAA Western Regional on Nov. 15, with a chance at sending the men’s and women’s teams to the NCAA championship.

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Vinny Lavalsiti | Alumnus
Lavalsiti joined the Bruin as a junior transfer in 2018 and contributed until he graduated in 2020. He spent time on the softball, women's basketball, cross country and track & field beats.
Lavalsiti joined the Bruin as a junior transfer in 2018 and contributed until he graduated in 2020. He spent time on the softball, women's basketball, cross country and track & field beats.
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