By Michael Sneag
Daily Bruin Contributor
The UCLA men’s and women’s cross country teams head
into this weekend’s Roy Griak Invitational in Minneapolis,
ready to continue their fast start. Last weekend, at the Sundodger
Invitational in Seattle, both teams experienced team and individual
success.
Senior Bryan Green won the men’s 8,000-meter race with a
time of 24:11 for his first major win of his career. It also
extended a streak in which he has finished in the top 10 of every
meet he has entered since the start of last year. The streak has
been beneficial to both Green and the team.
“Personally I think I am on track to be top five in the
district, but I also want to keep working on getting this team to
together,” Green said. “We are really young, so if we
come together we can do really well. I am focused getting people
comfortable working together.”
The team finished third in the meet, with freshmen Robert
Kuebler (20th, 25:06), Ben Aragon (25th, 25:13), Seth Neumuller
(30th, 25:22), Bryan Bauerle (38th, 25:41) and Justin Patananan
(42nd, 25:50) showing off the team’s emerging young
talent.
On the women’s side, Alejandra Barrientos continued to
show why she is considered one of the top freshmen in nation by
finishing third overall in the 5,000 meter course with a time of
17:16. Four other Bruins placed in the top 20: freshman Carmen
Winant (11th, 17:46), sophomore Valerie Flores (12th, 17:50),
fellow sophomore Jessica Marr (14th, 17:52) and freshman Lori Mann
(18th, 17:58). Â The team placed second overall to
Washington.
The Griak Invitational is a showcase for talent from all over
the country. Of the 33 teams in the women’s race, 11 are
nationally ranked, while 13 of the 36 teams in the men’s race
have a national ranking. This will be one of the first big tests of
the season for both teams to see how they can compete against major
talent.
“This is the most important meet of the season up to this
point,” Peterson said in a statement. “This is the
first meet of the season that will have a bearing on at-large team
selections for the NCAA Championships in November.”