CSUSM cross country ended their season on a high note at the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) Cross Country Championships in Ontario on Oct. 22.

Junior Natalie Rodriguez and junior Raelyn Werley earned All-CCAA honors in the women’s 6,000-meter race. Junior Vahagn Isayan earned All-CCAA honors in the men’s 8,000-meter race and freshman Joshua Litwiller earned the CCAA Men’s Freshman of the Year award.

“Nat, Rae, Vahagn and Josh were incredible! They are the building blocks for our future teams,” said Head Cross Country Coach Steve Scott.

Rodriguez said she is satisfied with winning All-CCAA Honors with her two teammates.  

“I’m super grateful for gaining All-CCAA Honors. Especially with my two teammates Vahagn and Raelyn. It’s amazing to think back to our first day of practice because that’s exactly what we wanted to pursue.”

On the women’s side, Rodriguez placed fourth overall with a time of 21:31.3. Werley placed sixth with a personal-record for the 6,000-meter with a time of 21:51.0.

On the men’s side, Isayan placed 14th with a time of 25:11.4 and Litwiller placed 17th with a time of 25:19.7.

Due to CSUSM still gaining eligibility for CCAA, they were not scored. If the team were eligible, the women’s team would have placed second overall and the men’s would have placed fifth at championships.

“Today’s conference meet really taught me [and] us that even though we couldn’t score, we all know what we did and it’s only motivating us even more for next year when we are full blown NCAA,” said Rodriguez.

Coach Scott is proud of what his team accomplished.

“Great job by both men and women, fifth and second, tough conditions with extreme heat. For the men, we are a very young team and we need to get experience to compete at this level. For the women, we will be ready for next year.”

Though the season is over, Rodriguez and her teammates are looking forward to next cross country season.

“My teammates and I are already talking about next season and our goals. There are a couple of very talented girls that red-shirted this season, so we’re all excited to see what our team is capable of with them back next year. We are for sure hungry for more.”