IRVINE, Calif. - For the first time in the NCAA DII era, the Concordia University Irvine cross country teams hosted a home meet.
The women's cross country team delivered a strong performance at the Irvine Invitational over at the nearby OC Great Park. The Golden Eagles finished in second place coming in after UC Irvine with an overall final score of 71 points.
Senior Taylor Whitfield from Highlands Ranch, Colorado, led the team with a second-place finish in her race. Coming off of an injury, it was a memorable day for her and her teammates.
"I am super grateful to be able to compete," said Whitfield. "I think we performed pretty well for our first meet. I think we got some more to work on after this race, but I think it was a really good start."
Junior Elizabeth King came in ninth, and former all-conference selection Porshe Eismann finished in 17th. Mariza Chavez and Emily Littlefield rounded out the top five for CUI, followed closely by teammate Audrey Barcenas.
On the men's side, junior Noah Plaza had a strong finish for the Golden Eagles coming in fourth place overall. Plaza mentioned their head coach Keegan Bloomfield implemented a new double threshold training that has helped make the team stronger.
"Our student-athletes raced well," added Bloomfield. "The men's team up front was really strong. Noah and Nano led the team out and looked good. They've put in some great work over the summer so it's great to see them show that in a race."
Junior Fernando (Nano) Aguirre came across the finish line in 12th place. Coming in behind in the top five was Spencer Handorf and Colin Bervig. Together the men's team finished in 5th place with an overall final score of 124.
CLICK HERE for the final Finished Results of both meets.
This was also the first time that CUI broadcast a cross country meet via its live stream. CUI plans to live stream broadcast the upcoming PacWest Conference Championship Meets on October 26.
It was a great and exciting day to be a Golden Eagle. Coach Bloomfield said it best - "There's no place like CUI and today was one of those days that shows why!"
Come out and support the Golden Eagles cross country teams in their next races on Saturday, September 21 at the UC Riverside Invitational. The meet starts with the women at 8:00 A.M. and the men's race at 9:00 A.M.
For the full CUI women's cross country schedule, CLICK HERE
For the full CUI men's cross country schedule, CLICK HERE
