SAN MARCOS, Calif. –  The Cal State San Marcos men's and women's cross country teams will race in the UC Riverside Highlander Invitational on Saturday, Oct. 14 on the UCR AG-OPS Course. 

LAST TIME OUT

• The men's team took 21st place while the women's squad placed 25th at the Lewis Crossover. 
• Sankalp Shastri was CSUSM's top runner for the third race this season, finishing in 27th place with a time of 24:40.9. 
• For the fourth consecutive time this season, Carly Schuerger set the pace for the Cougars with an 89th-place finish in a time of 22:56.2. 

UCR HIGHLANDER INVITATIONAL

• This marks the fourth consecutive season CSUSM will compete in the Highlander Invite. 
• Seven members of the men's team (Alex Anderson, Cris Carrillo, Owen Hinz, Anthony Martinez, Max Miller, Jason Morse, Jayson Oliver) and five women's runners (Angela Vine, Mia Salinas, Tamara Cornejo, Ana Moreno, Jessica Schempp) will compete in the race. 

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 earlier this season, the men were selected to finish third while the women were picked to finish fifth.

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).