MEN’S CROSS COUNTRY Saturday, 8 a.m. Pre-NCAA
Invitational Terre Haute, Ind.
So far this year, the Bruins have found a fair amount of
success, but now is when their season truly begins.
The UCLA men’s cross country team will be traveling to
Terre Haute, Ind., this weekend to compete in the Pre-NCAA
Invitational. While the team has run well as of late, they will
face their biggest test of the season on Saturday.
“We want to build on what we (have) accomplished,”
coach Eric Peterson said. “If we can continue to run as
consistently as we have up to this point, then we will be in great
shape heading into the Pac-10 meet.”
The race, which features 23 of the top 30 teams in the nation,
will be a huge barometer of how far this team has come in just a
couple short months. Coming off of their best race of the year two
weeks ago at the Bill Dellinger Invitational, where they placed
sixth in a highly competitive field, the Bruins hope to take that
momentum with them to Indiana.
“I was extremely encouraged with what I saw at the Bill
Dellinger invite,” Peterson said. “Our front four ran
extremely well as a group.”
Led this season by junior Kyle Shackleton, who has had a
breakout year, the Bruins have been exceeding expectations, running
as a cohesive unit. In their last meet as a full team, the two,
three and four runners ““ redshirt sophomore Drew Shackleton,
junior Mike Haddan and sophomore Laef Barnes ““ all finished
within just six seconds of each other, showing the kind of team
running that Peterson has stressed all season long.
In the back of the lineup, no one has solidified himself as a
solid No. 5 runner, though a handful of freshmen are looking to
fill that void. These runners include Marlon Patterson, Alex
Crabill and Jake Matthews. Healthy competition between the freshmen
will only improve this already overachieving Bruin squad.
“If we can get a strong performance from any of the
freshmen,” Peterson said, “we will be able to maintain
the momentum we have built up to this point heading into the
postseason.”