Oct. 11, 2012

BERKELEY - The California men's and women's cross country teams have a busy weekend on tap. A select group of Golden Bears will travel to Madison, Wisc. to compete in the Wisconsin adidas Invitational on Friday, while several individuals will travel to Santa Clara to race in the Bronco Invitational on Saturday.

The fourth annual Wisconsin adidas Invitational is set for Friday morning at the Thomas Zimmer Cross Country Course on the University of Wisconsin campus. The large field of 46 men's teams and 49 women's teams will feature several of the nation's top programs. The men's field consists of 19 schools ranked in the top-30 of the USTFCCCA national coaches' poll, including the top-ranked Badgers. The women's field features 20 of the top-30 teams in the USTFCCCA national poll, including No. 2 Arizona, No. 3 Washington and No. 5 Iowa State. The women will compete in a 6000-meter race set for 10 a.m. (PT) with the men are set for an 8000-meter competition at 10:40 a.m. (PT).

The women have been led by sophomore Kelsey Santisteban, who owns top-three finishes in each of her two races this fall. She placed second at the season-opening USF Invitational with a time of 17:09.7 in the 5000-meter race and third in the Panorama Farms Invitational in Virginia with a time of 17:37.4. Senior captain Hillary Hayes has also raced in two meets this fall. She finished seventh in the USF Invitational with a time of 17:53.6 and 18th overall in Virginia with a time of 18:47.6.

Newcomers Ashlyn Dadkhah and Mariel Mendoza are expected to join Santisteban and Hayes in Wisconsin, along with juniors Elisa Karhu and Juliana Green and sophomore Rebecka Oberg. Karhu (21:48.0), Mendoza (22:18.0) and Oberg (22:14.0) are the lone Golden Bears to run a 6000-meter race this fall, competing at the Stanford Invitational two weeks ago.

The men have competed in an 8000-meter race three times this fall with junior Agustin Alva recording the fastest time in a fifth-place performance at the USF Invitational with a time of 24:52.0. Sophomore Chris Walden registered a time of 24:52.9 to lead the Bears at the Panorama Farms Invitational. At Cal's last competition, freshman Leland Later posted a time of 25:25.0 at Stanford. Senior Renaud Poizat is the lone Golden Bear to have competed in three of Cal's four races this fall. He recorded a season-best 25:18.0 at the USF Invitational. Freshman Matt Carpowich (season-best 25:06.5), and seniors Simon Schmidt (season-best 25:04.0) and Matt Petersen (season-best 25:30.0) are also expected to compete for the Bears at the Wisconsin Invitational.

Several members of both the men's and women's teams will compete the following morning at the Bronco Invitational at Baylands Regional Park in Sunnyvale, Calif. The women's 5000-meter competition is set to begin at 9:45 a.m., while the men's 8000-meter race is slated to begin at 10:30 a.m. The event begins with an 8 a.m. "Jog for Jill" 5K walk/run competition to raise money and awareness for lung cancer. Jill Costello was a coxswain on the California varsity rowing team when she was diagnosed with lung cancer in 2009. Costello continued to compete with her team and guided the Bears to a second-place finish at the NCAA Championships in 2010 before passing away two months later.

Representing the Cal men in the 8000-meter race will be sophomores Bryan Jordan and Jordan Locklear (season-best 26:12.0), senior Joe Greenspun (season-best 27:24.0) and freshmen Juan David Garcia (season-best 25:47.0), Thomas Joyce (season-best 26:25.0) and Ned Trim (season-best 26:53.0).

, sophomores Laura O'Neill (season-best 18:29.3) and Kathleen Uyttewaal (season-best 18:15.1) and redshirt freshmen Sam Ralstin and Christine Zavesky (season-best 19:14.4) will represent the Golden Bear women in Santa Clara.

This weekend's races are the fifth and sixth of eight competitions the men's and women's cross country teams will compete in this fall prior to the NCAA West Regionals in Seattle, Wash. on Nov. 10. The Bears will next compete in the Pac-12 Championships in Santa Clarita, Calif. on Oct. 27.