Saturday

Central Arizona College Men's and Women's Cross Country competed at the highly competitive UCR Invitational on Saturday.  The meet, which boasts some of the faster NCAA D1 and D2 schools in the southwest, proved to be a good challenge for the Vaqueras as they prepare for the NJCAA National Championship in November.

"I like going to UCR because it really shows the men and women what we are doing correctly and what we need to do better"  Stated Coach Jon Harmon, "It's humbling to open up our racing season against some very fast D1 and D2 athletes."

The UCR Invitational produces some of the nation's top performances this early in September year after year, so a good performance at the meet helps set the outlook for the remainder of the season.  This year's open section hosted 285 athletes and 26 teams.  The women placed 16th overall. NCAA D2 UC Irvine won the meet. Salt Lake (3rd Overall) was the only other NJCAA D1 institution in this year's race.

"The women were prepared for today" Stated Harmon, "Everyone ran a personal best and the most satisfying thing from today is they understand that they will continue to improve and run faster."

The Vaqueras were led by sophomore Jessica Chaparro Viera (28th overall), who toured the 5km course for a new personal best in 18:22.  Jessica's time places her as the 4th fastest time ever run at UCR for the Vaqueras.  

Concluding scoring for the women was:

Alesyia Barlow (93rd Overall) ran 19:08 which is a new personal record.

Cassidy Davidson (148th Overall) ran 19:38 which is a new personal record.

Colleen Allen (156th Overall) ran 19:49 which is a new personal record.

Reshila Curley (158th Overall) ran 19:49 which is a new personal record.

Megan Tsabetsaye (194th Overall) ran 20:17 which is a new personal record.

Rylee Koopee (220nd Overall) ran 20:40 which is a new personal record. 

The women currently have the 6th best 5k average (19:21) in the Nation for NJCAA D1 after today's race.

The Vaqueras will look to improve on their first race of the season at their next meet which will be the ACCAC Conference Championships hosted by Estrella Mountain Community College on Friday.