Cross Country Opens 2015 Season
September 03, 2015 | Cross Country
LOS ANGELES – The UCLA men and women's cross country teams will open the 2015 campaign at the Ninth Annual Nature's Bakery Nevada Twilight Cross Country Classic. The meet will be held under the lights at Spark's Shadow Mountain Park.
"It is a fun time of year for us,” UCLA cross country coach Forest Braden said. “We train all year so that we can race and the racing season begins tomorrow in Reno. Both the men and women are pretty excited to put the Bruin uniform on, spike up, and go after it.”
The women will start things off at 8:30 p.m. on a 4,000m course while the men will follow at 9:10 p.m. on a 6,000m course. The Bruins will go up against UNLV, UC Riverside and Sierra Nevada College on top of host Nevada.
“We have a very small crew racing for the men and women in Reno but it is a good group,” Braden explained. “We have a strong group of redshirt freshmen making their debuts for us. Jackson Marshall, Sahm Bazargan, Scott Edwards and Cole Smith will be putting on the jersey for the first time. All are talented and very fit now they just need to go compete. We will be racing six women in Reno including redshirt freshmen Katie and Gabby Sered, who will also be making their UCLA debut."
Both the men and women are coming off of NCAA Championship meet appearances. The championship trip for both squads marked the first time since 1985 that both programs competed at the meet in the same season.
The men return all seven members of that squad that placed 18th at the NCAA Championships a year ago.
The USTFCCCA preseason poll tabbed the men 13th in the country while FloTrack ranked the men 16th overall. The men are also ranked third in the USTFCCCA west region rankings while the women check in at sixth in the west.
Men Outlook via Coach Braden:
Look for the team to be led by Lane Werley and Sergey Sushchikh. Both will lead on the course and off. They have been a formidable duo the last four plus years and I am looking forward to watching them go out in style this fall. Nick Hartle was one of our top cross runners the past two seasons and I expect his competitiveness to shine through on the course again this year. No one competes harder than Hartle. Consistent fifth man, Myles Smith, looks to build off his success last year and I fully expect him to be a driving force behind our success this fall. Myles has the work ethic, toughness and disposition to be a big surprise on the NCAA scene this fall. Austin O'Neil, Sean Davis and Daniel De La Torre, are coming off of good track seasons and will be instrumental in the team's success as well. Jonah Diaz and Ferdinand Edman both suffered injuries in track last spring but will be back ready to race when we need them most. Both have the ability to be All-Americans in Louisville. Workhorse Richard Ho has regional racing experience from last year's fourth place team and could be a sleeper to make the squad in Louisville.
Womens Outlook via Coach Braden:
With the loss of four seniors from last year's 27th place nationals squad (Smith, Golick, Marvin, Mooney), this year's team will have a much different look. There will be no clear favorite up front for us this season as there was in years past but instead four or five athletes who could switch off throughout the year. Aliya Shirif was the Bruins fifth runner last year and top returner from last year's squad. Also returning with NCAA experience is Emily Scharmann and Roni Yamane. Sabrina Seay and Ashlee Powers, both redshirts last season, will look to race near the front of the pack as well. A talented group of freshmen will make an immediate impact for the Bruins this year. Keep an eye on Taylor Taite (Murrieta Mesa HS, CA), Julia Rizk (Columbus Acadamy HS, OH), Jackie Garner (Torry Pines HS, CA) and Sweden's Carolina Johnson who is weeks off of a silver medal in the steeple chase at the 2015 European Junior Championships. Add in PAC- 12 performer, Valerie Morrison, and experienced sophomore, Jessica Cushing-Murray, and you have a young but very exciting, talented team.
After another week of training in the mountains near Mammoth, UCLA will return to the trail at the Mustang Challenge, held in Santa Clarita on Saturday, Sept. 19.
Players Mentioned
