Men’s Cross Country
Saturday, 9:30 a.m. v. UCSD Triton Classic La Jolla, Calif.
With the UCLA men’s cross country season in full swing,
several runners have solidified themselves at the forefront of the
team. Although the top runners are set, the team is still looking
to add depth ““ a feat it hopes to accomplish this weekend at
the UCSD Triton Classic Invitational.
Coach Eric Peterson will use this race to decide who to add to
the roster of seven that will compete at the Pre-National
Invitational in Terre Haute, Ind. the following weekend.
The five runners who will be competing, and fighting for the
final open spots, are senior Henry Hagenbuch, freshmen Marco
Anzures, Alex Crabill and Kevin Sullivan, and sophomore Ryan
Gordon.
Peterson told UclaBruins.com that they were developing runners
he hoped would work on their racing skills this weekend.
Leading the team right now, and watching to see who will be
added to the roster for the Indiana trip, are Laef Barnes, Mike
Haddan, Drew Shackleton and Kyle Shackleton.
“We kind of look to them as our big four,” Peterson
said.
Of those four, Kyle Shackleton has stood out, just missing a
top-10 spot (placing 11th) this past weekend against some
high-caliber competition at the Bill Dellinger Invitational in
Oregon.
Confident in the state of his top runners, Peterson will instead
shift his focus to the others on the team.
“The rest of the team really needs another race,”
Peterson said. “They need to get out there and
compete.”
By taking out the team leaders, Peterson hopes to see how each
of the others will respond to the pressure.
“Because we aren’t running the front end of our
team, it certainly makes us vulnerable,” Peterson said.
“So it’s a great challenge to the rest of the team and
see how well they can compete. They get a chance to run in a
different role. They get to lead the team.”
Peterson hopes to see a few guys show they can run well at a
competitive level and hopefully be contributors on the team.
Although there may not be very many quality schools competing,
the talent level is still high.
Peterson sees this more as a learning experience for his team
than anything else.
“We learn a lot about athletes when they are put into
these situations,” he said.
With reports from Bobby Gordon, Bruin Sports senior
staff.