FULLERTON, Calif. - Cal State Fullerton men's and women's cross country opened up the 2021 season with a sweep of the Mark Covert Classic on Saturday morning at Carbon Canyon Regional Park in Brea. 

In the women's 5K, Trinity Ruelas made light work of the competition as she won by more than 30 seconds with a time of 17:39.5. In second was fellow Titan Mckaylie Caesar at 18:12.8. Dana McGrath (8th, 18:25.1), Mia Rose Bergman (11th, 18:37.8) and Eva Rethmeier (14th, 18:38.8) were the other three scorers for the Titans. Overall, the team posted a score of 36 to win while Claremont-Mudd-Scripps was second with 56 and USC had 106 in third.

.@Trinity_Ruelas destroys the competition and wins the 5K by more than 30 seconds with a time of 17:39.5!#TusksUp pic.twitter.com/JRuRtjRbcw

— Titans Track & Field (@FullertonTFXC) September 4, 2021

For the men's 8K, Sam Ayala led the Titans with a time of 24:52.0, good for a runner-up finish. Right behind him was Alexis Garcia at 24:54.4 to take third place. Freshman Tony Chavez (17th, 25:27.5), Andrew Castellon (19th, 25:30.8) and Vicente Huerta (20th, 25:34.5) rounded out the top-five scorers for the Titans. The men's team won with a score of 58 while Pepperdine was second with 81 and The Master's had 94 in third.

Sam Ayala (24:52.0) and Alexis Garcia (24:54.4) take 2nd and 3rd to lead the way for the men!#TusksUp pic.twitter.com/9vt9jASYyr

— Titans Track & Field (@FullertonTFXC) September 4, 2021