Sept. 19, 2012

Los Angeles - The Bruin men's and women's cross country teams will play host at this Friday's Pac-12 Preview in their second meet of the 2012 season. The meet will consist of four races kicking off at 4:20 pm at Robinson's Ranch Golf Course in Santa Clarita, Calif. The first two races are the Women's Open 5k and the Men's Open 8k. These two are following an open format, allowing for unattached and extra runners from competing schools to run the course. Following the open events are the Women's Invite 5k and the Men's Invite 8k, which begin at 5:40pm and 6:20pm respectively. For the invite races, a maximum of ten runners will be allowed from each team.

Aside from the host Bruins, the meet will feature UC Davis, Cal Poly, Long Beach St., Clemson, Northern Arizona, Texas (women), Arizona State (men) and Sacramento State (men).

The race will be no easy task for the 27th-ranked Bruin men, who are coming off a season opening victory at the Nevada Chase Race. The field features another elite team in the 18th-ranked Northern Arizona Lumberjacks, who claimed a victory at their home course in the George Kyte Classic on Sept. 1. The Sac St. Hornets will also make a serious push, as they are undefeated through their first two meets in the 2012 season.

The Bruin women will have their hands full as well, as they will be going up against a field that includes the 27th-ranked Texas Longhorn squad.

Competing for the Bruin men in the Invite race are Dustin Fay, Lane Werley, Sergey Sushchikh, Daniel Herrera, Daniel Rosales, David McDonald, Jacob Wood, Alec Govi, Patrick Douglas and Chase Zukerman. One the women's side, captain Katja Goldring will head the group comprised of Sierra Vega, Merissa Kado, Hannah Valenzuela, Caitlin Schmitt, Sarah Toberty, Kelsey Smith, Bronte Golick, Annie Mooney, and Lyndsey Mull. Mull, a freshman from Redondo Beach, Calif., will be making her UCLA debut on Friday for the Bruins.

Friday's Pac-12 Preview will mark the first time UCLA has hosted a cross country meet since the 2002 Pac-10 Championships which they hosted at Brookside Golf Course in Pasadena. The Bruin women finished fourth while the men finished eighth. This will the first of two races the Bruins will be at home for this season, as they will also host this year's Pac-12 Championships in Santa Clarita on Oct. 27.