Cross country competes at UC Riverside Invitational


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Tyler Kowta | Daily Trojan

The women’s cross country team took on the 37th annual UC Riverside Invitational on Saturday in Riverside, Calif., competing in both the 6K invitational race and 5K open race and taking 25th out of 29 teams in the 6K and 18th out of 27 teams in the 5K.

The race was the Trojans’ second of the season, although their first at the longer 5K and 6K distances. After placing fourth at the Pepperdine Invitational on Sept. 1, the team continued to refine racing strategies in preparation for later-season races like the Pac-12 championships. Head coach Patrick Henner recognized junior Amber Gore, sophomore Chloe Berry, junior Lauren Maurer and freshman Jennifer Daly for their preparations leading into the race.

“We put in a really good two-week training block, so we weren’t really coming out here looking to have an incredible day racing,” Henner said. “[But] I saw some good improvements … so the pieces are there.”

Gore, the team captain, was USC’s first finisher in the 6K, running 21:40.9 to take 70th place, only 12 seconds off her personal record of 21:32.6 set in 2016. Berry led the Trojans in the 5K with an 18:54.1 for 65th.

Behind Gore, Maurer was the Trojans’ second finisher, with a personal record of 22:29.2. Freshmen Julia Bounds and Sydney Tullai ran times of 23:56.6 and 24:23.3, respectively, in their first 6K race, followed by junior transfer Angelica Vallier with a time of 25:43.1.

In the 5K, Daly followed close behind Berry with a PR of 19:06.5. Sophomore Kamryn Weber, just 0.2 seconds off her PR, ran a 19:32.4, junior Rachel Glynn a 20:17.0 and freshman Mackenzie Ellison a 21:04.8 to round out the Trojans’ scoring.

On Saturday, the Trojans will run at University of Nevada-Las Vegas Cross Country Invitational at Craig Ranch Regional Park in Las Vegas. The race, a two-and-a-half-loop 5K course, is scheduled to start at 8 a.m.

“It is just going to be a process for us, the training and learning how to race,” Henner said. “We just have to keep getting better week after week.”