UCLA’s cross country squads went into the weekend with
uncertainty about how they would run as a team. After their race on
Friday, one team has more answers while the other is still
searching.
Both the men and women’s cross country teams competed over
the weekend at the first Bill Dellinger Invitational hosted by the
University of Oregon. Looking to rebound from a subpar meet the
weekend before, the teams came away with split results. On the
men’s side, Kyle Shackleton led the Bruins for the second
consecutive meet as the junior placed 11th overall in a small but
potent field of runners. Shackleton finished the 8,000 meter course
in 23:41.
“Kyle was outstanding today,” UCLA coach Eric
Peterson said. “This was probably his best collegiate race as
he led us from start to finish. He just missed a spot in the top-10
and just ran really well today.”
As a team, the Bruins saw a marked improvement as well,
finishing in sixth place and defeating a handful of nationally
ranked squads including Texas, Butler and American.
In contrast to last weekend’s showing in Minnesota, the
men ran in a much more cohesive unit as the team’s second,
third and fourth runners all finished within five seconds of each
other. Not only did they run as a pack, but they also all crossed
the line in the top 35 as redshirt sophomore Drew Shackleton
(24:03), junior Michael Haddan (24:08) and sophomore Laef Barnes
(24:09) helped lift the team to sixth place in addition to Kyle
Shackleton’s breakout performance.
“We did a great job as a team today and it shows this
group’s ability to improve as a team,” Peterson
said.
For the women, a slew of last-minute injuries limited how well
the team did. Junior Claire Rethmeier didn’t make the trip
due to a foot injury, while redshirt senior Jenna Timinsky and
freshman Hannah Roeder battled illnesses, contributing to their
poor performances. Senior Ashley Caldwell was the team’s top
runner once again, finishing the 6,000 meter run in 13th place with
a time of 20:58. Caldwell was followed by redshirt sophomore Allie
Bohannon (21:19), who came in 23rd place.
While those two provided bright spots, the team is still lacking
a core group of runners who stay together consistently. The runners
who are counted on to fill those roles, redshirt sophomore Olga
Aulet-Leon, junior Monika Rothenburger and redshirt senior Allison
Hall, all finished outside of the top 45.
“We are letting opportunities get away from us with our
gap between runners and we plan on fixing that in the
future,” Peterson said.
Both teams’ next large competition will be in two weeks
when they head out to Terre Haute, Ind., for the Cross Country
Pre-National Invitational.