Women's 5k (4:45 p.m.)/Men's 8k Course Map (5:15 p.m.) 

FULLERTON, Calif. – The Cal State Fullerton men's and women's cross country squads will wrap up the regular season on Friday evening hosting the Titan Invitational. The men's 8k run and the women's 5k course will be held on the campus of Cal State Fullerton. The women's invite race will start at 4:45 p.m., followed by the men's competition at 5:15 p.m.

THE COURSE: The course on the campus of Cal State Fullerton starts and finishes adjacent to the Titan Track and Field Complex at the grass recreational fields. The course loops around the grass fields, and continues toward the concrete and asphalt pathways around the Sports Complex. The surface consists of approximately 30% grass and 70% concrete and asphalt.

THE FIELD: Competing alongside the Titans will be a pair of Big West foes in UC Irvine and UC Santa Barbara, while squads from Cal Poly Pomona, Cal State Stanislaus, Loyola Marymount, Orange Coast College, San Diego, UCLA complete the field.

RESULTS: Results will be available on Flashwest.com. Complete results will also be posted on Fullertontitans.com following the conclusion of the meet.

2013 TITAN INVITATIONAL: In last season's Titan Invitational on Oct. 26, 2013, the Cal State Fullerton men's and women's cross country teams finished fifth and ninth, respectively.

2013 Women's Team Results (5k)

Place         Team                                        Score      
1.              UCLA                                          31      
2.              San Diego St.                              56         
3.              SUPERPRIDE                               63         
4.              Orange Coast College                  101       
5.              Pepperdine                                 130       
6.              UNLV                                         145
7.              UC Irvine                                   171       
8.              San Diego                                  243       
9.              Cal St. Fullerton                         253       
10.            UC Santa Barbara                       298       

2013 Men's Team Results (8k)

Place         Team                                       Score      
1.              SoCal Elite                                 20
2.              Orange Coast College                  43         
3.              UCLA                                         88         
4.              NMFA                                        89         
5.              Cal St. Fullerton                        120
6.              UC Irvine                                  147       


LAST TIME OUT AT THE HIGHLANDER INVITATIONAL: The Cal State Fullerton men's team finished in second place, while the women finished in third at the Highlander Invitational (Oct. 18) at the Ag/Ops Course on Saturday morning. Host UC Riverside swept both the men's and women's cross country invitational races.

Fullerton was second in the men's standings with 63 points, three points ahead of Long Beach State (66). Fullerton sophomore Danny Ramirez finished sixth among collegians at 18:05.0 and was followed by freshman Samuel Garcia in 11th with a time of 18:20.3 on the 6k course. Sophomore Jose Penaloza rounded out the top-three CSF participants at 18:22.9, good for 14th place overall. Five Titan men finished within the top-20 competitors while the team collected its third second-place finish of the season.  

The Titans were third in the women's scoring led by fifth place collegian Emily Taylor in 17:47.3 on the 5k course. Taylor posted her best 5k performance of the season both in overall time and finish. Junior Ana Valdovinos was the next Titan runner with a season-best finish in 15th overall with a time of 18:14.8. Anaheim, Calif., native Arianna Fuentes rounded out the top-three Fullerton participants concluding the invite in 20th while carding a time of 18:26.2, continuing the trend with another pair of season-best marks. For the second consecutive meet, the trio of Taylor, Valdovinos and Fuentes finished their respective invite race 1-2-3 among CSF runners. Five Titan women concluded the race within the top-30 participants as the team recorded its best finish of the season.

Top 3 Men Finishers at Highlander Invitational (6k)

Top 3 Women Finishers at Highlander Invitational (5k)

SWEPT AWAY: Following competition at the historic Rim Rock Farm Classic (Oct. 4) in Lawrence, Kan., Cal State Fullerton's Emily Taylor and Danny Ramirez swept the Big West Cross Country Athlete of the Week honors for the second time this season. The Fullerton duo previously swept the conference honors back on Sept. 23 following competition at the Mustang Challenge on Sept. 20. 

COOKING ON LOW: In his senior campaign as a Titan, Brandon Cook has improved on his 8k time in every meet following the opening season meet at the Fullerton-hosted Mark Covert Classic on Aug. 30. Cook currently holds a season-low mark of 26:37.3 that was tallied at the CSUSB Coyote Classic back on Sept. 27.

WHERE WE STACK UP: Heading into the final meet of the regular season, the Titan men and women have produced 42 top-30 overall finishes.

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

TAYLOR AT THE TOP: In all four events she's participated in, Emily Taylor has crossed the line as the top Fullerton runner on the women's side. She most recently shattered her previous 5k time after boasting a season-best time of 17:47.3 at the Highlander Invitational (Oct. 18), while completing her first 6k event at the Rim Rock Farm Classic on Oct. 4 in 22:25.5. The junior from Huntington Beach, Calif., is the only lady Titan to post four overall top-15 finishes.


THE RAMIREZ CONNECTION: For the first time this year, Fullerton sophomores Danny and David Ramirez finished 1-2 at the Rim Rock Classic on Oct. 4. The brothers and natives of Buena Park, Calif., have recorded a combined four overall top-20 finishes this season.

UNDER THE RADAR: Women's team captain Ana Valdovinos has steadily produced a top-three Fullerton finish in all four events she's entered. The junior from Coachella, Calif., is one of only two female runners to post four overall top-25 finishes.   

MAKING THEIR DEBUT: 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.


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.

UP NEXT: Following the completion of the regular season, Fullerton will compete at the Big West Championships on Nov. 1, as the Titans will make their second appearance on the Ag/Ops Course in Riverside, Calif.

AT THE BREAK WITH HEAD COACH JOHN ELDERS: Fullertontitans.com caught up with Titans cross country Head Coach John Elders to look back on the first four meets of the season and aspirations for the rest of the season including the Big West Championship on Nov. 1.

#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.