LA JOLLA, Calif. - The UC San Diego men's and women's cross country teams hosted the 23rd Annual Triton Classic Saturday morning at the UCSD North Campus Course. The Triton men took first for the second straight year and the women placed third.
Junior Brendan Gee led the way for the 25th-ranked men's team as he took eighth, finishing the eight-kilometer course in 26:44.30. The next six UCSD runners finished within 11 seconds of each other as sophomore Wyler Svoboda (27:18.17), sophomore Garrett Lepine (27:20.39), junior Terrence Luevano (27:21.50), freshman Joseph Benrubi (27:24.10), senior Daniel Franz (27:28.40) and freshman Aren Johnson (27:28.91) crossed the finish line in a tight pack at 14th, 16th, 17th, 18th, 19th and 21st, respectively.
As a team, the Tritons came out on top with 54 points. Azusa Pacific took second with 73 and Loyola Marymount was third compiling 83 points. APU's Jeremy Porter was the individual winner of the race with a time of 26:06.38.
The 24th-ranked UCSD women were led by the duo of senior Paige Hughes (22:26.07) and freshman Karina Carstens (22:29.93), coming in seventh and ninth, respectively, in the six-kilometer race. Senior Marie Diaz (23:07.84) and sophomores Ella Verhees (23:09.76) and Kristin Semancsin (23:19.62) rounded out the scorers as they finished in consecutive fashion in 18th, 19th and 20th place.
Among the many finishers in the race was UCSD hall-of-famer Julie Ertel who finished in 10th. She was an All-American water polo player during her time at UCSD and a two-time Olympian, once in water polo and another time in the triathlon.
The Tritons took third place with 73 points, narrowly being edged out by Biola, who took second with 67 points, and California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) rival Cal State San Bernardino, winning the race with 64 points. APU's Eileen Stressling won the competition with a time of 21:36.86.
The meet marks the end of the regular season for UCSD. The Tritons have two weeks off before heading to the Bay Area for the CCAA Championship, hosted by San Francisco State on Sunday, Oct. 25.
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