LA JOLLA, Calif. - The UC San Diego men’s and women’s cross country teams will host their first meet in over since August this weekend, as they welcome in many Division I, II and III schools to compete in the Triton Classic on Saturday, October 6. The 6k women's race will begin at 8:30 a.m., with the 10k men's race scheduled for a 9:30 a.m. start. Both races will begin and conclude inside the Triton Track & Field Stadium on the UCSD campus.

The Triton women were winners of this event in the Division II section last season, narrowly edging out Cal State L.A. by one point, 30-31.  No awards were given on the men’s side, as results were deemed unofficial due to a course discrepancy.  The Triton men did win the Division II title at the Triton Classic two years ago. 

UCSD senior Diane Dunn was the top finisher for the Tritons at the Classic last season, crossing the finish line in a time of 22:49.4, giving her sixth place overall. Fellow seniors Emily McGregor and Amanda Burkhardt were the next two UC San Diego runners to cross the finish line with their times of 23:24.6 and 23:24.9, finishing 11th and 12th overall, respectively.  Junior Ashleigh Montgomery also helped UCSD to the win, finishing 19th with a time of 23:44.8. 

On the men’s side, sophomore Jesse Morrill was the first Triton to complete the race with a time of 26:14.6, while sophomore Max Mullender finished just over three seconds later at 26:17.8

The Triton squads put together strong finishes in their last outing during the Bob Firman Invitational in Boise, Idaho.  The UCSD women finish 4th out of 13 competing schools, while the men finish 5th out of 11 teams on a course that will also host the 2007 NCAA Division II West Regionals in November.

Again it was Dunn pacing the women’s side with a time of 18:16.93 that placed her 3rd overall among the 124 individual runners.  Jessica DiMascio finished 37th overall at 19:52.58, while Amanda Keuhn, Caprice Thompson, and Celia Pourtau finished at 42nd, 43rd, and 44th with times of 19:59.68, 20:02.91, and 20:04:00, respectively. 

Daniel Anderson paced the men, finishing 17th overall with a time of 26:05.33.  Jesse Morrill and Jake LeVieux would finish consecutively at 25th and 26th with times of 26:05.33 and 26:15.26, while Ryan Becijos came in 31st at 26:27.38.  Mike Wright would be the final Triton to score with a time of 26:39.22, good for 37th place.

The Triton Classic Invitational, UCSD’s final regular season meet, will serve as an important warm-up for the upcoming CCAA Championships, scheduled for Saturday, October 20 in Turlock, Calif.