CBU Grabs Second at UCR Invitational

Saturday, September 15

Riverside, CA

7:30 AM

California Baptist University

UC Riverside Invitational (6K)

Anett Somogyi competes at the UCR Invitational

Photo by: Dwain Linden

CBU Grabs Second at UCR Invitational

9/15/2018 3:13:00 PM | Women's Cross Country, Cross Country, Cross Country & Track

By: Michael Matheney, Sports Information Graduate Assistant

RESULTS

RIVERSIDE, Calif. — After breaking into the USTFCCCA West Region Top-15 – becoming the first program to grab a ranking in the Division I era – California Baptist University put together another strong performance Saturday morning at the UC Riverside Invitational. CBU placed five runners in the top-20 to claim second place as a team in the 6K Invitational.

It was the first 6K of the season, meaning the freshman-heavy Lancers had many who were competing at that distance for the first time in their collegiate careers.

"[The distance] was definitely an underlying question mark, as we had six true freshmen running in the invite race," said Coach Adam Tribble. "It's a very positive sign with four of the top-five girls being true freshmen."

The Lancers tallied 44 points to take second behind the 10th-ranked team in the Mountain Region, Southern Utah (31 points). The 13^th-ranked team in the Mountain Region and fellow Western Athletic Conference member, Utah Valley, finished in third place with 108 points, while Sacramento State (No. 15 in West Region) finished fourth with 136 points. The top-five was rounded out by former PacWest rival Azusa Pacific (150 points).

Anett Somogyi led the Lancers with a second-place performance, finishing in a personal-best time of 20 minutes, 19.8 seconds. The freshmen pair of Lara Orrock (20:38.3) and Anna Mate (20:39.2) finished less than a second apart from each other to claim sixth and seventh, respectively.

A second freshmen duo, composed of Emilie Renaud (21:03.8) and Karolina Iznerowicz (21:03.8), took 16^th and 17^th respectively in photo-finish fashion, as they crossed the finish line simultaneously. Fruzsi Ladanyi (21^st) set a new personal record with a time of 21:14.7, while Chloe Sharp (21:23.6, 27th) and Maria Guerrero (21:35.0, 33^rd) rounded out the 6K invite for CBU.

Natalia Novak (18:20.2, 19^th) and Mary Andrews (20:10.1, 121^st) also competed in the 5K open for the Lancers.

"We've been training hard, no doubt," Tribble said. "I think we still have a great deal of room to improve as we move through the season."

In two weeks, CBU will travel to Minnesota for the Roy Griak Invitational on Saturday, Sept. 29. It is one of the largest meets in the country, with six collegiate races and four high school races, and will be a huge test for the Lancers. Last year, the Gopher women took third as a team at regionals and went on to place 19^th at nationals.