Three Cougars will be representing the Cal State San Marcos women's cross country team on Saturday, Oct. 16 at the Highlander Invitational, hosted by UC Riverside. PREVIOUS RACE The Cougars had a strong showing at the Lewis Conference Crossover, finishing 10th out of 25 teams in a field that featured seven nationally-ranked teams. Renee Laurenzana set the pace for the Cougars, placing 23rd out of 258 runners with a time of 22:50.6. No. 1 Grand Valley State won the team title after accumulating 36 points with host Lewis snagging runner-up honors with 106 points. RACE 5 | HIGHLANDER INVITATIONAL Date Saturday, Oct. 16 2021 Race Start Times Men's 8K - 8 a.m. Women's 6K - 8:45 a.m. Location Riverside, Calif. Course Map UCR Agricultural Operations Course Live Scoring Live Results COVID-19 Policy Please see UCR's COVID-19 policy. FINAL TUNEUP BEFORE CCAAs The 2021 UCR Highlander Invite will feature 33 teams from all different levels, NCAA Division I to Junior College. CSUSM is the only CCAA school competing in the race. The Cougars will be running against former CCAA opponent UC San Diego, who is a now member of NCAA Division I's Big West Conference This will be CSUSM's second appearance in the UCR Highlander Invitational. In 2019, CSUSM only sent five student-athletes to the UCR Highlander Invite with Alicia Villarreal being the first Cougar to cross the finish line in a time of 23:22.44 . COUGAR OUTLOOK The Cougars return 13 runners from the 2019 season. Six runners will be donning Cougar Blue this season with Maria Texis being the lone true freshman. CSUSM placed sixth at the 2019 CCAA Championships and eighth at the NCAA West Regional. The Cougars were picked fifth in the CCAA Women's Cross Country Preseason Coaches Poll. In Week 5 of the 2021 NCAA Division II Men's Cross Country National Rankings, as released by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches' Association (USTFCCCA), CSUSM dropped out of the top 30, but is the top team receiving votes with 14. In the West Region rankings, the Cougars dropped down one spot to No. 5 with Simon Fraser (GNAC) remaining in the top spot, followed by Chico State (CCAA) and Stanislaus State (CCAA).