BREA, Calif.—Senior Rigoberto Baza placed 101st with a time of 27:39.9 and the Cal Lutheran Kingsmen cross country team finished 18th at the Mark Covert Classic which was held at Carbon Canyon Regional Park. The meet consisted of 19 teams, including many Division I programs.
"The meet went really well, for it being the first meet of the year," said head coach Matt Lea. "The wo456 men's team ran great and it is always nice to get the jitters out of the way. We executed and performed perfectly."
Baza was the top Cal Lutheran runner on the day as he destroyed his personal record (PR) on the course by 25 seconds. Junior Nikita Khromets was the second CLU runner to cross the finish line and was 129thwith a mark of 27:59.0
The Kingsmen returners continued the trend of PRs, as junior Connor Neufeld-Griffin was the third CLU runner to cross the line, with 28:24.2 and in 142nd place. His PR was 15 seconds faster than last year.
Senior Henry Friederichs was next with 28:57.0 and in 160th, sophomore Luke VanKeersbilck recorded his lifetime PR of 29:13.5 and in 155th, senior Rudy Correa was 195th with 31:14.7, sophomore Xavier Reynoso set his PR at 32:03.8 and was 204th and sophomore Dillan Barmache was 221st with 38:05.2
Freshmen Jonathan Aguilar and classmate Christian Zamudio both competed in their first collegiate race. Zamudio was 178th with a time of 30:04.5 and Aguilar was 182nd with 30:15.4
"The men ran awesome," said assistant coach Brett Halvaks. "They ran in great groups throughout the race and turned in a lot of strong marks to begin the season."
The Kingsmen continue the season with the UC Riverside Invitational on Sept. 14. The race takes place at the UCR Agricultural Operations Course in Riverside, Calif., and will start at 7:30 a.m.
Results: Mark Covert Classic
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Release by Ryan Jorgenson, Sports Information Director