RIVERSIDE, Calif. — The Cal State Fullerton men's and women's cross country teams both finished in fourth place at the Big West Cross Country Championships Saturday at the UC Riverside Agricultural Operations Course. 

Alexis Garcia led the men's squad in the 8K contest with a fifth-place finish, running a 23:49.4. Talman Young followed with a time of 24:46.2 to finish 25th, while Andrew Castellon ran a 24:58.5 to finish in 31st place. 

Nathaniel Avila raced a personal-best 25:01.0 to place 32nd and Vicente Huerta followed in 33rd place with a 25:02.0. Tony Chavez (25:28.9, 47th) and Jeremiah Castellano (25:42.9, 52nd) rounded out the Titans' scoring finishers. 

As a team, the men's squad garnered a total of 123 points to place fourth. Cal Poly won the men's title with 22 points and UC Santa Barbara took second with 67. UC Riverside placed third with 70.

The women's team tallied 94 points in the 6K contest, led by an eighth-place finish from McKaylie Caesar and a time of 20:05.3. Eva Rethmeier followed with a personal-best 20:46.9 to finish 16th, while Dana McGrath placed 18th with a 20:51.9. Olivia Ruiz finished 24th with a time of 20:51.9, 24th.

Kimberly Pena (21:05.5, 28th) and Mia Bergman (21:06.5, 29th) rounded out the Titans' top-30 finishers, while Laura Velasco finished 39th with a 21:21.4 as the Titans' final scoring runner. 

Cal Poly (63) narrowly defeated UC Irvine (64) for the women's title, while UC Davis (92) placed third. UC Santa Barbara and Cal State Fullerton both posted 94 points, with the Titans finishing fourth due to a tiebreaker. 

Up next for the Titans is the NCAA West Regionals on Friday, November 11th, which will take place at Chambers Creek Regional Park in Seattle, Washington. 

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Fans can keep up with the latest in Titan Athletics by following us on Facebook (Facebook/FullertonTitans), Twitter (@FullertonTitans), and Instagram (FullertonTitans). In addition, the cross country team has established its own Twitter (@FullertonTFXC) and Instagram accounts (@FullertonTFXC).