Trinity Ruelas, Jacob Smith are individual winners for Titans in tuneup on Ag-Ops Course for Nov. 2 showdown with Cal Poly at Big West Championships

By Landon Negri for DyeStat

If Saturday’s Highlander Invitational at UC Riverside was indeed a tuneup for the Big West Championships in two weeks, then Cal State Fullerton’s cross country program is clearly running on all cylinders.

The Titans on Saturday swept their way to a pair of team titles and two individual crowns on the Ag-Ops Course at UC Riverside, also the site for the Nov. 2 championship meet for the Big West Conference.

Individually, juniors Jacob Smith and Trinity Ruelas rallied late in the men’s and women’s races to earn their victories. The Titans got exactly what they were looking for as they prepare for the Big West Championships and an expected showdown with Cal Poly, the defending champion on both sides.

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“We really wanted to focus in this race to run together – and not running against each other – but rather with each other and for each other,” Smith said. “Because we were struggling a little bit with that early in the season. I think we really came together today and showed we can run as a team.”

Fullerton’s men won with 47 points. UCLA’s split squad was second with 66, and New Mexico State finished third with 109.

The Titans and New Mexico State went 1-2 on the women’s side for the second consecutive year, with Fullerton tallying 31 points to the Aggies’ 82. UCLA was third with 93.

Ruelas led the way in perhaps the most compelling of the two races. She had to run down Embry-Riddle (Arizona) sophomore Ariana Anderson, who routed the field Sept. 28 to win The Master’s University Invitational at Central Park in Santa Clarita.

Anderson ran aggressively again, taking a lead before Ruelas reeled her in the second half of the 6-kilometer event.

Ruelas won her second 6-kilometer invitational race of the season in 20 minutes, 24.5 seconds. Anderson was second in 20:36.

“That was extremely tough,” Ruelas said of chasing Anderson. “There were many times where I just felt like stopping or slowing down, but I just kept putting pressure on myself to keep my eyes on the (pace) bike once I passed her, keep my eyes on her, and just keep the momentum going.”

Anderson said the plan Saturday was to run similarly to her 5-kilometer victory at Master’s, which she won in 17:09.5.

“The main difference was that I did get caught,” Anderson said of Ruelas, “and she was zooming.”

Making just her second cross country start this year after her track season extended into June, Fullerton senior Samantha Huerta, the Big West runner-up a year ago, placed third in 20:43.9.

Followed in the team scoring by junior Demi Marine (ninth, 21:13.2), senior Sarah Hollis (10th, 21:15.5) and senior Sandra Flores (11th, 21:16.7), Huerta was as happy as anyone for Ruelas.

“I was really struggling and she made the move fairly early,” Huerta said. “Honestly, all I care about is how the team does overall. I’m never a person where I need to worry how I do or where I place on the team. All that matters is how this team sticks together ...’”

“Trinity just made that last mile all worth it,” Huerta added. “I could not be any happier for her.”

Former Cal Poly standout Calene Morris, running for Janes Elite, finished fourth in 20:57.1. UC Irvine sophomore Hannah Chau broke 21 minutes and placed fifth in 20:59.6.

New Mexico State sophomore Richelle Sandin was sixth in 21:00.3, leading the Aggies to their second-place showing.

“Oh my gosh, I’m so proud of my team,” Sandin said. “We’ve been working our butts off, and this by far is the strongest team we’ve ever had. To PR all across the board is incredible.”

San Diego’s Molly Klein was seventh in 21:07.1 and UCLA’s Gwyn George placed eighth in 21:13.

Smith’s victory was nearly as dramatic. After New Mexico State’s Michael Kirwa set an early pace and even broke from the front pack, Smith and others spent the second half of the 8-kilometer race chasing him down.

Smith, eighth in the race a year ago, won by five seconds.

“Me and my teammate Erik (Gonzalez) were trying to push the pace for the front group,” Smith said. “I got up to (Kirwa). … With about 2K to go, he was within reach, so I just went for it and didn’t look back, and did everything I could to just finish as strong as possible and not get caught.”

No one caught him, or the Fullerton men, but San Diego Mesa’s Stefen Rasmuson did make it interesting by outsprinting UCLA’s D.J. Lawson at the finish to place second in 24:17.5. Lawson was third in 24:17.6.

San Diego Mesa’s men are ranked No. 1 in the state community college rankings, and Saturday offered a rare chance to trade swings with four-year schools at an 8-kilometer distance.

They swung well, too, as the Olympians were fourth and boasted top-10 finishes with Rasmuson and sophomore Isaiah Labra (10th, 24:38.7), demonstrating San Diego Mesa is among the elite two-year programs in the country.

“I really like it,” said Rasmuson, who ran nearly two minutes faster than this meet a year ago.

“It’s almost like we’re going against competition that’s even harder than what we have in our state. Then once we actually go to state, we’ll have a good chance to run a really good time.”

He’ll have to wait, though. First, Mesa has the PCAC Conference Championships on Oct. 25 at Morley Field and the regional championships Nov. 8 at Mission Bay, before the community college state meet Nov. 23 at Woodward Park in Fresno.

That’s a park Erik Gonzalez knows well, as he won a state title as a high schooler there in 2016. Saturday was a bit of a homecoming for the Rubidoux High alum, and, incredibly, it was his first time running UCR’s Ag-Ops Course.

Gonzalez stuck with Smith for a while before settling for fourth in 24:22.3.

UC Riverside senior Arman Irani had the top performance of the day for the host school, placing fifth in 24:23.5. Former Loyola High standout Mason Ratkovich, running unattached, placed sixth in 24:24.9, and Kirwa, after his early surge, wound up seventh in 24:25.7.

Redlands’ Tucker Cargile was eighth in 24:33.5, and UCLA’s Andy Ehrenberg was ninth in 24:38.2.

Glendale Community College has the top community college performance on the women’s side, placing 11th with 304 points, led by freshman Yajaira Calderon finishing 34th in 22:06.3.