SAN MARCOS, Calif. –  The Cal State San Marcos men's and women's cross country teams will travel to the Bay Area for the CCAA Championships on Saturday, Oct. 21. The Cougars will race in the picturesque Quarry Lakes Regional Recreation Area, located in Fremont and part of the East Bay Parks District. 

LAST TIME OUT

• The men's squad placed 21st at the Highlander Invitational last Saturday while the women did not post a team score. 
• Jayson Oliver was CSUSM's top runner, placing 124th with a time of 25:56.0.
• For the first time this season, Tamara Cornejo was CSUSM's top female runner after taking 200th place with a time of 24:51.5. 

CCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS

• This marks the first time CSUSM has run the Quarry Lakes Regional Park course. 
• The women's race field will feature 11 of the 12 CCAA schools while the men's race will be comprised of nine conference schools.
• Stanislaus State's women repeated as CCAA Champions last season, finishing with 39 points to Chico State's 52. Stan State senior Kaela Dishon was the CCAA Individual Champion
• Chico State's men extended its conference title streak to 20 last season with six Wildcats finishing in the top 10. Chico State senior Rory Abberton was the CCAA Individual Champion. 
• CSUSM men's team took third for the second consecutive year in 2022 while the women placed fifth. 
• Ruben Piña was named to the All-CCAA team after finishing in 11th place in 2022 in the field of 76 runners. 
• Luz Mercado was the first Cougar to cross the line in last year's race, taking 22nd place out of 91 runners with a time of 22:56.3.
• Saturday's forecast in Fremont is a mixture of sunshine and clouds with a high of 71 and winds from 10-15 mph. 

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).