Cross Country Stays Local in Fullerton
October 22, 2015 | Cross Country
LOS ANGELES – The UCLA cross country team will compete for the final time during the regular season as the Bruins will make the short trek to Fullerton to race in the Titan Invitational. The meet is scheduled for Friday, Oct. 23 and will be held on the campus of Cal State Fullerton. The women's 5k will start things off at 4:45 p.m., and will be followed by the men's 8k at 5:15 p.m.
“The Titan Invite is always a good opportunity for our younger athletes to get a good 8k race experience under their belts,” UCLA cross country coach Forest Braden said. “We should have five men who could vie for the individual win which will be fun to watch. We are taking a smaller women's crew this year but I expect them to run competitively near the front of the race.”
The course on the campus of Cal State Fullerton starts and finishes at the Titan Track Complex. The course loops around the grass fields, and continues toward the concrete and asphalt pathways around the Sports Complex. The surface consists of approximately 30% grass and 70% concrete and asphalt.
Competing alongside the Bruins will be host CSU Fullerton and squads from Long Beach State, Loyola Marymount, UC Santa Barbara as well as additional non Division I teams.
For a lot of the Bruins this week will mark a final tune-up of training before the Pac-12 Championships, which are scheduled for Friday, Oct. 30 in Colfax, Washington.
“For our postseason teams, this is one of our last big weeks of training so we are focused on putting our heads down and getting to work this week,” Braden explained. “Everyone is doing a good job of having fun while working hard.”
Last weekend at the Wisconsin Adidas Invitational was a good indicator and a means of momentum for the men's squad. The UCLA men finished ninth overall against the competitive field and moved up five spots to No. 15 in the rankings and No. 2 in the region.
Lane Werley continued his stellar senior campaign with a 14th place finish. The women placed 34th and unleashed freshman Carolina Johnson, who shined in her debut and finished 26th overall.