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. 

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).