SAN MARCOS, Calif. – The Cal State San Marcos men's and women's cross country teams will compete in the University of Alabama Huntsville Chargers Invitational on Saturday morning in Huntsville, Alabama.
LAST TIME OUT
- Both squads took second place at their own Cougar Challenge on Sept. 28.
- Sankalp Shastri claimed fourth place with a PR 8K time of 24:21.1.
- Also finishing fourth was Angela McManus with a 6K time of 21:20.1, topping her PR time by more than a minute (22:27.0).
| RACE 4 | UAH CHARGERS INVITATIONAL | |
| Date | Saturday, Oct. 12, 2024 |
| Race Start Times | Men's 8K - 6 a.m. PST Women's 6K - 6:50 a.m. PST |
| Location (Course) | Huntsville, Ala. |
| Course Map | Men's Course, Women's Course |
| Live Results | AthleticLive |
UAH CHARGERS INVITE
- This is the first time CSUSM will be competing in the UAH Charger Invitational.
- In 2023, Charleston of West Virginia took home the men's 8K team title while Tampa took the women's 5K team title.
- The CSUSM cross country teams will be traveling to Alabama for the first time in program history.
- Projected weather is slightly cloudy with a chance of rain and temperatures in the low 60s.
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.
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).