Senior Emma Hadley led a dominant Anteaters performance with a personal-best time that ranks fourth in program history.
UC Irvine women’s cross-country captured both the team and individual 6K titles at the UC Riverside Invitational on Saturday.
The Anteaters finished with 65 points to lead the 30-team field, placing 87 points ahead of runner-up Cal State Fullerton.
Senior Emma Hadley won the 269-runner race in a personal-best 20 minutes, 9.9 seconds. She crossed the finish line five seconds ahead of the field and moved into fourth place on UC Irvine’s all-time 6K performance list.
Hadley was one of nine Anteaters to record a personal best.
Sophomore Grace Baxter finished fourth overall and third among collegiate runners with a time of 20:27.7, earning the seventh-fastest mark in program history.
Junior Cynthia Herrera placed 15th in 20:41.4, while fifth-year runner Sona Kourilova followed in 18th at 20:43.5. Both recorded personal-best times.
Junior Anna Soares placed 30th, with teammates Jackie Pan and Liana Lee finishing 32nd and 33rd.
Eight additional UC Irvine runners combined for a runner-up finish in the meet’s 5K open competition. Sophomore Kaitlin Kenney placed second overall and first among collegiate runners with a personal-best 17:39.1.
The victory followed UC Irvine’s third-place finish at the season-opening Aztec Coastal Classic earlier in September. The Anteaters are scheduled to return to competition October 9 at the Bill Dellinger Invitational in Springfield, Oregon.
