Caltech men’s and women’s cross country have released their joint schedule for the Fall 2017 season. Schedule The Beavers open the season with their usual appearance at the University of Redlands Invitational on Saturday, Sept. 2. In last year’s opener, the men’s team defeated the favored Bulldogs in what was essentially a dual meet as […]
Caltech men’s and women’s cross country have released their joint schedule for the Fall 2017 season.
The Beavers open the season with their usual appearance at the University of Redlands Invitational on Saturday, Sept. 2. In last year’s opener, the men’s team defeated the favored Bulldogs in what was essentially a dual meet as freshmen Nikhil Poole (Arcadia, Calif. / Flintridge Prep) and Simon Ricci (Chicago, Ill. / Latin School of Chicago) placed first and second overall, with women’s rookie and SCIAC Newcomer of the Year Sophie Walton (Emerald Hills, Calif. / Sequoia) also beating out every UR runner.
The second race of the season still is yet to be determined as Head Coach Ben Raphelson weighs the option to stick to the familiar every-other week format or run a week earlier ahead of an extended break leading into the SCIAC Multi-Duals. A shortened course at the Biola Invitational last year saw Ricci and Walton shatter the respective team records in nonetheless stellar performances that likely would have challenged those records anyway.
The SCIAC Multi-Duals will take place earlier than ever before following last year’s decision to move them two weeks earlier and with this year’s scheduling availability at La Mirada Park forcing a move to Friday evening. Both teams will be looking to build off last year’s best finishes in over a decade, when the men recorded a 4-4 mark while the women notched a pair of victories.
Caltech will get another look at the majority of the conference in one final tune-up on Oct. 14 at the Pomona-Pitzer Invitational ahead of the SCIAC Championships, which will take place on Saturday, Oct. 28. The Beavers continued their impressive season with sixth-place finishes on each side last season, with Walton earning First Team All-SCIAC honors for her individual place of sixth.
This year’s NCAA West Regional will be contested in Claremont, Calif. on Saturday, Nov. 11 with the NCAA National Championships scheduled for the following weekend. Walton capped the 2016 season with All-West Region recognition behind a 19th-place finish that led the women’s team to its best finish in program history.
