SAN MARCOS, Calif. – The Cal State San Marcos men's and women's cross country teams will begin their seasons on Saturday at Cal State Fullerton's Mark Covert Classic in Fullerton, California.
MEET THE COUGARS
- The women's team returns 13 runners while the men's team has eight returners from the 2022 squad.
- Twenty student-athletes will be wearing Cougar Blue this season (11 women, nine men).
- In their final races of 2022, the men's squad finished ninth while the women's team took 14th place at the NCAA West Regional hosted by Montana State Billings.
- In the CCAA Cross Country Preseason Coaches Polls that were released yesterday, the men were selected to finish third while the women were picked to finish fifth.
- In the preseason edition of the 2022 NCAA Division II West Regional Rankings, as released by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches' Association (USTFCCCA), the men were ranked ninth.
| RACE 1 | CSUF'S MARK COVERT CLASSIC |
| Date |
Saturday, Sept. 2, 2023 |
| Race Start Times |
Men's 8K - 8 AM
Women's 5K - 8:45 AM |
| Location (Course) |
Brea, Calif. (Carbon Canyon Park) |
| Course Map |
Men's
Women's |
| Live Scoring |
Finished Results |
CSUF's MARK COVERT CLASSIC
- This is CSUSM's third appearance at the Mark Covert Classic hosted by Cal State Fullerton.
- In 2022, the women's team placed seventh out of 14 teams with then-senior Renee Laurenzana being the first Cougar to cross the line for a 29th place finish (19:40.4).
- The men's team placed third last season at the Classic with then-freshman Sankalp Shastri taking 23rd place (26:23.5) in the 8K race.
THE OLSON FILE
- Head coach Torrey Olson begins his sixth season at the helm of the men's and women's cross country programs after taking over in the summer of 2018.
- Olson came to CSUSM after spending three seasons as the Director of Track & Field and Cross Country at the Academy of Art University where his teams earned 50-plus All-American honors.
- Olson served as the head cross country coach the previous three years at Academy of Art.
- In addition to the Academy of Art, Olson has also worked with the University of San Francisco and Pomona-Pitzer College.
- A graduate of Pomona College in 2009, Olson also holds an MFA from St. Mary's College (2012).
