Results

IRVINE, Calif.— The No. 4 ranked Cal State San Marcos cross country team put aside any doubts that this year's team would live up to the billing set by last year's NAIA national runner-up squad, winning the UC Irvine Invitational in convincing fashion Saturday.

It marks the second consecutive year that the Cougars have won the competition, narrowly defeating UC San Diego 66 to 67 last season. Returning four of their top seven runners , the Cougars placed six runners in the top 27 overall en route to score just 58 points and lead the 19 team field. UC San Diego placed second once again with 82 points, and Central Arizona and UC Irvine rounded out the top four.
 
The Cougars trounced the nearest NAIA competitor— No. 6 The Master's College— who finished 5th with 164 points.
 
The duo of two-time NAIA All-Americans Daniel Lyon and Western Nelson led the way for the Cougars, finishing 3rd and 6th respectively with times of 25:00.3 and 25:20.5.
 
Freshman Steven Ing, who was born in South Africa but went to high school in Hong Kong, had an excellent debut for the Cougars, placing 13th in 25:56.5. Junior Ryan Jenson, a key returner from last year finished 18th in 26:00.5, and senior Deng Akuien was the final scorer in 26th place with a time of 26:09.8.
 
Rounding out the top seven for CSUSM was freshman Zachary Laurenzana and sophomore Easton Tackett, who were 27th and 55th, respectively. The Cougars had six runners finish before any other team had four, with the exception of UC San Diego, whose fourth runner was just two spots ahead of sixth man Laurenzana.
 
The race was an excellent start for the Cougars, who received four first place votes in the preseason NAIA poll. The Cougars will look to build upon their strong opener next week at the UC Riverside Invitational on Saturday, September 15.