Cougars succeed at UC Riverside Invitational

Rebecca Sykes, Sports Editor

Junior Natalie Rodriguez has broken another school record in the 6,000-meter race on Sept. 17 at the UC Riverside Invitational.

This is the second meet in a row Rodriguez has broken a school record. The women’s team finished in fourth overall the men’s team finished in fifth place.

Rodriguez finished in fourth place to dominate the 6,000-meter with a time of 20:49.6, beating the previous record held by Suzanne Cornwell in 2011 by 21.8 seconds.

Head Coach Steve Scott sees Rodriguez’s competitiveness in her running is what pushes her to win.“Her strength is her competitiveness, she never met an opponent she didn’t think she could beat.”

On the men’s side, Junior Vahagn Isayan finished fifth in the invitational with a time of 24:16.23. Sophomore Steven Terris finished 14th respectively with a personal-best of 24:44.21.

Terris enjoys cross-country because of the strong chemistry he shares with his teammates.

“My favorite part about cross-country would be having such a strong bond with my teammates and being able to compete for the same goal. The goal we have is to do the best we can in every race, give it everything we have, and succeed together as a team.”

Terris owes his success to his coaches and looks forward to his future as a Cougar.

“I’ve always been a hard worker but I want to owe a lot of my success to the coaching staff and my teammates for always pushing me and believing in me,” Terris said. “For my future as a Cougar I hope to improve as the years go on as a runner and a student.”

On the women’s side Junior Paula Stonehouse ran the 6,000-meter with a personal best of 21:39.32 and placing 21st. Sophomore Lisa Flora also ran a personal best in the same event with a time of 21:41.35 and placed 22nd.

The Cougars next meet is Sept. 24 in the Coyote Challenge at Cal State San Bernardino.