Men's 8k Course Map (9:00 a.m.)

Women's 6k Course Map (10:00 a.m.)

FULLERTON, Calif. – The Cal State Fullerton men's and women's cross country squads will embark on the program’s first appearance at the Rim Rock Farm Classic hosted by Kansas on Saturday. The men's 8k run and the women's 6k course will be held at Rim Rock Farm in Lawrence, Kan. The men's invite race will start at 9 a.m., followed by the women's invite race at 10 a.m.

RIM ROCK FARM CLASSIC: The race will take place at Rim Rock Farm (2276 Burnett Lane, Lawrence, KS 66044).

THE COURSE: Located 15 miles north of Lawrence, Rim Rock Farm is both a challenging and unique course. In addition to having two covered bridges as part of the historic route, dispersed throughout the course are silhouette statues, specific hills, turns and landmarks in representation of notable Kansas alumni, making the course one of the most unique across the country. 

THE FIELD: Competing alongside the Titans and Jayhawks will be squads from Drury, Emporia State, Fort Hays State, Grand Canyon, Highland CC, Missouri State, Nebraska-Kearney, New Mexico State, Oral Roberts, Pittsburgh State, Rice and Missouri-Kansas City.

RESULTS: Results will be posted on Kansas’ athletic website at kuathletics.com. Complete results will also be available on Fullertontitans.com following the conclusion of the meet.

LAST TIME OUT: The Cal State Fullerton men's team finished in second place, while the women finished in sixth at the Coyote Classic on the campus of Cal State San Bernardino on Saturday morning. Cal Poly Pomona swept both the men's and women's cross country invitational races.

Fullerton was second in the men's standings with 57 points. Junior Jeff Little finished 15th among collegians at 26:09 and was followed closely by fellow junior Donald Bernard in 17th with a time of 26:26. Senior Brandon Cook rounded out the top three participants at 26:37, good for 20th place overall. Four Titan men finished within the top-30 competitors. 

The Titans were sixth in the women's scoring led by 38th place collegian Abby Buckoff in 24:56 on the 6k course. Sophomore Amanda Crissinger was the next Titan finisher with a time of 25:22, finishing 43rd overall. South Gate, Calif., native Pamela Pelayo rounded out the top-three Titans concluding the invite in 45th and crossing the line at 25:30. Four Fullerton women concluded the 6k course within the top-50 participants.

Top 3 Men Finishers at CSUSB Coyote Classic (8k)

Top 3 Women Finishers at CSUSB Coyote Classic (6k)

UPPERCLASSMEN LEADING THE WAY: At the Mark Covert Classic, senior Brandon Perry and junior Emily Taylor both recorded the fastest Fullerton times in any meet so far this season. Perry, a native of Irvine, Calif., ran a 26:07.8 8k, which was over 30 seconds faster than the next Titan finisher. Taylor ran an 18:50.5 5k, which was 14 seconds ahead of the mark she set last season in the 2013 Mark Covert Classic.

MAKING THEIR DEBUTS: Five Titan student-athletes made their respective debuts at the Mark Covert Classic on Aug. 30. A pair of redshirt freshman in Tanner Love (15th place; 26:45.3) and Robert Miyoshi (33rd place; 27:20.6) took to the men's 8k course. On the women's side, San Diego Mesa College junior transfer Kim Melechinsky (49th place; 20:09.9), freshman Brianna Shoffner (67th place; 20:38.7) and redshirt freshman Lauren Carr (78th place; 21:14.4) also wore the orange and navy for the first time at a cross country event. Redshirt freshman Samuel Garcia (34th place; 26:49.3) made his debut this past weekend at the Mustang Challenge on Sept. 20.

WHERE WE STACK UP: After the completion of three meets in 2014, the Titan men and women have produced 24 top-30 overall finishes to begin the season.

Fullerton Men's and Women's Overall Top-30 Finishes (2014) 

LONGEST-TENURED COACH: As the 2014 season continues, cross country and track and field head coach John Elders logs his 27th season at the helm of each program making him the longest tenured head coach in the history of Cal State Fullerton.

The Orange County native was tied with former fencing head coach Heizaburo Okawa (1982-2006) and former men's soccer coach Al Mistri (1981-2005) for 25 years of service at Fullerton.

A LOOK AT THE 2014 TITANS: The men return six of the 12 runners who competed at the conference championships, while the women return seven of eight student-athletes. The Titan men return 18 student-athletes from last season without any newcomers. On the women's side, another 18 total runners return while a pair of Titans join the 2014 roster, San Diego, Calif., native Kim Melechinsky, and Brianna Shoffner from Huntington Beach, Calif. 

UP NEXT: The Titans return to the course as they travel to Riverside, Calif., for the Highlander Invitational hosted by UC Riverside on Saturday, Oct. 18 at the Ag/Ops Course.

#ALSIceBucketChallenge: Head men's and women's cross country and track and field coach John Elders accompanied a host of Cal State Fullerton student-athletes at Titan Stadium to take part in the ALS ice bucket challenge to raise awareness of the neurodegenerative disease.