BREA, CA — The University of La Verne men's and women's cross country teams are set for the 2024 SCIAC Championships this Saturday, November 2 at Carbon Canyon Regional Park in Brea. The women's 6-kilometer race is set for 9 a.m. with the men's 8-kilometer race to follow at 9:45 a.m.
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Spectator Information
Official SCIAC Cross Country Championship Merchandise will be available for purchase on-site
No admission fee will be charged for the event.
Parking: $5 cash or credit (standardized Orange County rate for weekends; all fees go to the County).
*PLEASE NOTE: Parking will likely be congested approximately 20 minutes before the race. Plan to arrive earlier to ensure you have ample time to park before the race.
La Verne Preview
Runners on the men's and women's squads have shed personal records throughout the season and hope to put on their best performances of the year on Saturday. The men's squad is looking to improve on their fourth-place finish from a year ago and the women's team plans to push past its seventh-place finish from 2023.
The Leopards competed against some of the nation's best at the Pre-Nationals in Indiana earlier this year with Fernando Cortez Jr. and Lizbeth Garcia both setting personal records.
"This is a tight-knit, family group. That culture already existed when I got here, it's special to have your team feeling that support. We've continued to chip away and get better every week. Our team today would whip our team from 10 weeks ago. We don't need to be amazing to reach our goals on Saturday. If we run a solid race we will get there," said University of La Verne cross country head coach Rob Lander.
Marissa Hehir has led the women's squad all season and will look to do the same this weekend. The 2023 All-SCIAC and All-Region selection will look to improve on her 17th-place finish from a year ago.
"It's a tough conference but we've been picking up momentum and running well lately. Marissa will likely lead us and our 2-6 will run strong and can finish in any order," said Lander.
The men's squad has several runners who can pace the team on Saturday. Cortez took the top spot for the Leopards most recently at the Highlander Invite and finished first for La Verne at Pre-Nationals. Thomas Taniguchi was the top finisher for La Verne at the Mark Covert Invite and the UC Riverside Invitational.
"It's going to be a competitive and tight race. We have a strong pack and a great team mentality. We're pretty interchangeable 1-5 so several people can be our top finisher," added Lander.
