Complete Men's Results Complete Women's Results
Riverside, CA - The UC Riverside cross country teams competed in the 2009 Big West Championships on Saturday morning at the UCR Ag/Ops Course, with the men taking home a fourth place finish while the women finished in fifth.
The men's team tallied 86 total points, just five points shy of the third-place team UC Davis. UC Santa Barbara finished second while defending champion Cal Poly won the event.
Sophomore Chad Hall led the men's squad placing fourth overall in a personal-best time of 23:44.4, while freshman Emmanuel Ngula was closely behind, finishing ninth in 24:24.3. Both runners earned Big West All-Conference awards with their top-10 finishes.
Sophomore Steven Crum finished third for UCR and 23rd overall, running the 8k course in 25:01.7. Seniors Jose Melena placed 27th in 25:10.8, while Daniel Lindstrom finished 29th in 25:15.2.
On the women's side, the Highlanders could not defend their 2008 crown as they finished fifth with 112 points. UC Santa Barbara won the race followed by UC Davis, Cal Poly, and Long Beach.
Freshman Katy Daly earned a spot on the All-Conference team with her fifth place finish, running the 6k event in 20:43.9.
Freshman Damajeria DuBose finished 19th for the Highlanders in 21:25.8, while sophomore Jenessia Navarro came in 25th in 21:45.2, junior Margaret Sitker finished 29th in 21:52.8, and senior Ashleigh Pratt placed 35th in 22:08.4.
The UC Riverside men's and women's cross country return to the races at the NCAA West Regionals in Eugene, OR on Saturday, Nov. 14.