After a very long season for both squads, the UCSB men’s and women’s cross country teams wrapped up the competitive year this past Friday at the NCAA Regional Meet. Both teams finished in the top 20 of schools competing, with some individuals placing in the first 50 athletes to cross the finish line.

On Friday morning, 412 Division I runners gathered in Sacramento at the Haggin Oaks Golf Complex, ready to compete for the title and for possible advancement to the next round. The men would go first, running the 10K with a total of 27 teams racing, followed by the women’s 6K with 32 teams. The first race was taken by Stanford with a substantial lead over the next lingering team, while the women’s race was won by Arizona, who also clinched their victory with a powerful lead.

Santa Barbara’s men’s team finished in the 10th spot, led by junior Bryce Rausa, who finished 44th overall with a time of 30:46. This astonishing time pans out to a mile average that is just under five minutes. Just two seconds behind Rausa was sophomore Brian Guijarro, finishing in 46th and also running his average mile under the five minute mark. Sophomore Anthony Ortolan was the third Gaucho to cross in 56th place at a time of 31:02. He was trailed by senior Tyler Brady and freshman Anthony Monroy, who came in 62nd and 79th place, respectively.

“I knew there was still something to see from these guys,” Head Coach Pete Dolan explained. “Like I said before, they were hungry and I think they showed that Friday. This season ended in the right place.”

The women’s team managed to take 18th place behind star junior Dani Moreno, who shaved off an entire five seconds from the personal best that she set earlier this year. Moreno finished 27th overall at a time of 20:18, making her the third Big West Conference runner to come across. Coming in 69th place with a time of 20:57 was junior Christine Cooperstein, and she was followed by sophomore Maxine Goyette, placing 87th at 21:14. The last two Gauchos to score in this race were 128th-placed sophomore Sarah Shreck, with a time of 21:45, and freshman Emily Lopes, who came in 136th place at 21:53.

This article is an online exclusive and did not appear in a print edition of The Daily Nexus.