Leopards Place Ninth At Pomona-Pitzer Invitational

The University of La Verne women's cross country team placed ninth overall at the Pomona-Pitzer Invitational Saturday, establishing a 6-kilometer school record.

The Leopard women, having last competed at the UC Irvine Invitational on Sept. 14, placed fifth among Division III teams at the Pomona-Pitzer Invite. 

Division II Cal State San Marcos placed first (29) followed by a pair of Division I teams in UC Irvine (59) and San Diego State (91) to round out the Top 3 schools.   

La Verne finished with a total time of 2:05.07.20 for an average of 25:01.44, setting a school record for a 1-5 split to better the old mark of 2:08.29 set in 2006.

Sophomore Katie Barrese paced the Leopards with a 26th-place finish (23rd among scoring competitors), completing the 6k course in 23:29.4.  Freshman Yanet Urciaga placed 66th overall and 47th among scorers with a 24:54.4 performance.

Micaela Castillo was the next highest La Verne finisher with a 25:04.0 clocking to finish 74th overall and 53rd among scorers.   Other Leopard runners included Shelby Sato (25:49.6) and Brigitte Blazys (25:49.8), who finished 97th and 98th, respectively, followed by Sydney Rose, who complete the course in 26:29.0.

La Verne is next in action on Oct. 16 for the SCIAC Multi-Dual at La Mirada Park.