'Dogs head to SoCal for UCR Invitational

RIVERSIDE INVITATIONAL
Sept. 27, 2025 | Riverside, Calif. | UCR Agricultural Operations Course
7:15 a.m. PT – Women's 6k Invite | 8:25 a.m. PT – Women's 5k Open | 8:55 a.m. PT – Men's 8k Open

COVERAGE
Live Results: Finished Results
Twitter (X): @FresnoStateTFXC

RIVERSIDE, Calif. – The Fresno State Cross Country team is back in action this weekend at the UC Riverside Invitational in Riverside, Calif.

TALE OF THE TERRAIN

The UC Riverside course is mostly flat with a few rolling hills, and hard-packed dirt with pre-competition watering to reduce dust.
It is run through the Agricultural Operations Center, which features 100-year-old citrus trees.

'DOGS ON THE COURSE

Fresno State will enter 15 women on the team in either the 6k Invite or 5k Open race this weekend.
This includes runners Diana Cortes, Samantha Ebell, Hannah Garrity, Zowie Hernandez, Morgan Hutchison, Khushleen Khakh, Emilia Lev, Nayla Martin, Leah Mendibles, Hannah Pacheco, Chiara Pedol, Janae Penner, Ashley Villafana, Rhiannon Walker and Kylie Ward.
In addition, all 10 men on the Fresno State roster will compete in the 8k open: Jacob Diaz, Gavin English, RJ Estrada, Noah Graffigna, Marcus Jauregui, Guillermo Lopez, Enrique Loredo, Emilio Nunez, Jaden Tungate and Elijah Williams.

DRAKE'S TAKES

"I'm excited to really get the cross-country season started in earnest this weekend. We've competed at the UCR Invitational for quite a few years, so it's nice to be able to see how we have progressed as a team," Head Coach Jason Drake said of the race. "We will line up a full squad on the women's side this week, and getting Jacob in uniform on the men will give us a good sense of where we are."
"The men are training at a much higher level this year but are still young," Drake added. "It will be fun to see how much they have improved since we were at this meet last year."

NOT OUR FIRST RODEO

The Bulldogs have competed at the UCR Invitational for six straight seasons.
Five out of the fifteen women in the Bulldog line up have competed at the UCR Invite in Diana Cortes, Hannah Garrity, Khushleen Khakh and Kylie Ward.
Eight of the Bulldogs on the men's team (RJ Estrada, Noah Graffinga, Marcus Jauregui, Guillermo Lopez, Emilio Nunez, Jaden Tungate and Elijah Williams) are familiar with the UCR Ag Op Center as they ran in the UCR Invite in 2024.

Fresno State Athletics

Players Mentioned

Diana Cortes

Jacob Diaz

Samantha Ebell

Gavin English

RJ Estrada

Hannah Garrity

Noah Graffigna

Zowie Hernandez

Morgan Hutchison

Marcus Jauregui

Khushleen Khakh

Emilia Lev

Guillermo Lopez

Enrique Loredo

Nayla Martin

Leah Mendibles

Emilio Nunez

Hannah Pacheco

Chiara Pedol

Janae Penner

Jaden Tungate

Rhiannon Walker

Kylie Ward

Elijah Williams

'Dogs head to SoCal for UCR Invitational

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