SAN MARCOS, Calif. – The Cal State San Marcos men's and women's cross country teams will begin their seasons on Friday at the UCI/CUI Irvine Invitational at Orange County Great Park.
MEET THE COUGARS
- The women's team returns 13 runners while the men's team has 11 returners from the 2023 squad.
- Twenty new student-athletes will be wearing Cougar Blue this season (15 women, five men).
- In their final races of 2023, the men's squad finished 11th while the women's team took 13th place at the NCAA West Regional hosted by Western Oregon.
- In the CCAA Cross Country Preseason Coaches Polls that were released last week, both the men and women were picked to finish fourth.
- In the preseason edition of the 2024 NCAA Division II West Regional Rankings, as released by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA), the men were ranked 10th.
RACE 1 | UCI/CUI IRVINE INVITATIONAL | |
Date | Friday, Sept. 6, 2024 |
Race Start Times | Women's 6K - 8 AM Men's 8K - 9AM |
Location (Course) | Irvine, Calif. (Great Park) |
Course Map | Race Information |
Live Scoring | Finished Results |
Video | ($) Team1Sports |
UCI/CUI IRVINE INVITATIONAL
- This is the first year University of California Irvine and Concordia University Irvine will be hosting the Irvine Invitational.
- Last year, the Cougars opened the season at the Cal State Fullerton Mark Covert Classic where the women placed seventh and the men took eighth.
- The races will take place at the Orange County Great Park which consists of a 194-acre Sports Complex featuring amenities for soccer, tennis, volleyball, baseball, basketball and softball
THE OLSON FILE
- Head coach Torrey Olson begins his seventh 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).