The Concordia cross country teams completed the UC Riverside Cross Country Invitational this past Saturday in Riverside, CA.  The #10 women's team finished second out of 18 teams in the 5k run with a total time of 1.33:27.70 and an overall average time of 18:41.54.  The men's team finished fifth out of 11 teams in the 8k run with a total time of 2:18.03.90 and an overall average time of 27.36.78. 

Having jumped up to #10 in the NAIA women's cross country rankings after a strong showing at Redlands two weeks ago the Concordia women's cross country team was eager to prove they deserved the ranking.  They certainly didn't disappoint as they finished a strong second place with 61 team points falling only behind #1 NAIA-ranked Cal State San Marcos in an open race that included numerous top unattached runners from the So Cal area as well.  Finishing first for CU was senior Rocio Pelayo, finishing ninth out of 217 runners with a time of 18:03.0 in the 5k run.  Coming in with a time of 18:33.9 was sophomore Jessica Marquardt, placing 14^th overall.  Junior Laura Pluemer finished third for CU placing 16^th overall with a time of 18:39.4.  Placing 24^th overall with a time of 18:53.7 was junior, Amber Clark.  The fifth finisher for CU was senior, Arielly Conde, placing 39^th overall with a time of 19:17.7.

"The chemistry on our women's team has been impressive from the summer on," Brewer said.  "They have some goals and want to go to nationals as a team.  This is one of the most enjoyable groups of women I've been able to coach."

Senior standout, Rick Avila won the men's 8K easily with a blistering course time of 24:59.3, a good 23 seconds in front of the next closest competitor.  Placing tenth was junior, Joshua Gomez, coming in with a time of 26:21.3.  The third finisher for CU was freshman, Robert Blackwell, placing 50^th overall and finishing with a time of 27:53.6.  Placing 92^nd was freshman, Miguel Mejia, finishing fourth for CU with a time of 29:16.9.  Rounding out the men's top five runners with a time of 29:32.8 and placing 101^st was freshman, David Diaz.

The Eagles will be back in action October 6^th at the Triton Classic hosted by UC San Diego in San Diego, CA.