Big West Cross Country Championships

The Cal Poly men and Cal State Fullerton women made history with their team titles Saturday at the Big West 2019 Cross Country Championships. The event was hosted by UC Riverside at the UCR Ag/Ops Cross Country Course.
 
The Titans won their first women's cross country title in program history with 44 points, outlasting second place UC Davis (50) and third place Cal Poly (51). CSF was one of two teams with three top 10 finishers in Samantha Huerta (20:24.97 – 2^nd), Trinity Ruelas (20:39.17 – 3^rd) and Sarah Hollis (21:09.39 – 10^th), powering them to the team title.
 
Cal Poly's Miranda Daschian finished first overall in the individual race with a time of 20:20.62, her second straight 6K conference title. She also led a contingent of three Mustangs that finished inside the top 10 for All-Conference accolades. Sierra Brill crossed in second in 20:52.63 (6^th) and Cate Ratliff followed closely behind in 21:09.34 (9^th). Meanwhile, Eva Goodisson (20:44.29 – 4^th) was the top finisher for the Aggies, followed by teammate Chloe Arriaga (20:55.87 – 8^th).  Arriaga was the only freshman to finish in the top 10 of the 6K race. UC Irvine and UC Santa Barbara were the other two schools represented in the top 10, with Hannah Chau (20:51.83) finishing in fifth for the 'Eaters and Astrid Rosvall in seventh for the Gauchos with a time of 20:53.72.
 
The men's side saw Cal Poly win their fourth straight title and 17^th overall with 44 points. The own the most titles in league history and have now won 14 of the last 17 conference meets. Cal State Fullerton took second with 53 points and UC Santa Barbara finished in third with 67 points.
 
Jake Ritter was a wire-to-wire finisher in the men's 8K race, taking home his second consecutive individual title with a time of 23:43.69. John Bennett's seventh place showing in 24:53.94 gave the Mustangs top 10 finishers, but the club's depth proved vital as it picked up key points in 11^th-13^th to claim the championship. UC Santa Barbara's Nick Randazzo (24:26.53) came in second for the Gauchos, and Yousef Baddour was their other top 10 finisher, coming in 9^th with a time of 24:57.72. Cal State Fullerton was the only club with three runners in the top 10. Leading the way for the Titans was Erik Gonzalez (24:39.35 – 4^th), followed by Jacob Smith (24:51.97- 6^th) and then Alexis Garcia (25:00.34 – 10^th). The host Highlanders had two in the top five in Jonathan Lee (24:34.72- 3^rd) and Arman Irani (24:40.96- 5^th). Ryman Crone was the lone UC Davis runner among the All-Conference finishers, crossing 8^th with a time of 24:56.37.