Bulldog Cross Country Races at Pomona-Pitzer Invitational
The University of Redlands cross country programs continued their preparation for the upcoming Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) season with Saturday's Pomona-Pitzer Invitational. The Bulldog men took seventh among schools from all levels, while the Maroon and Gray women finished ninth in the standings.
A pair of second-year standouts led each team, with sophomore Chris Bolt (Reno, NV) and Della Lyle (Buffalo, WY) registering top times for the Bulldogs. Bolt completed the 8K-course by crossing the finish line in 27:19.4, while Lyle came in ninth among the women with a time of 23:01.9 on the 6K-course.
For the men, a talented group of rookies rounded out the scorers with two additional finishers within the sub-28-minute range. Freshman Jarron Helbock (San Diego, CA) clocked in at 27:33.1 and first-year harrier Hunter Holthaus (San Diego, CA) posted a mark of 27:38.2.
The freshman quartet of Jonathon DeGroot (San Leandro, CA), Ian Lee (Las Vegas, NV), Nathan Meier (Riverside, CA), and Robert Garcia-Magdaleno (Pico Rivera, CA) quickly followed less than 75 seconds later. DeGroot came in at 28:04.2 and Lee completed the race in 28:22.0, shaving off nearly 40 seconds from his time at the UC Riverside Invite on Sept. 15. Meier also greatly improved his 8K-time after just two weeks, cutting off nearly a minute for a mark of 28:29.1. Garcia's time of 28:49.9 was substantially faster as well, bettering his effort by more than 60 seconds.
In addition to Lyle, the Bulldog women gained a solid performance from freshman Lauren Roberts (Portland, OR), who debuted on the longer 6K-course with a time of 24:32.1. Junior Ellie Aguilera (Lemoore, CA) completed the race in 25:48.8, while freshman Jessie Talbert (Santa Fe, NM) rattled off a mark of 26:45.0.
Junior Courtney Mera (Redlands, CA) registered a time of 27:25.7 as the fifth-fastest Bulldog, just about a minute ahead of senior Brooke McCawley (Ripon, CA), who improved upon her 6K-time from a year ago by more than two minutes.
Redlands looks forward to the SCIAC Multi-Dual meet on Friday, October 12, at La Mirada Park. The race begins at 4:30 p.m.
