2018 Triton Classic Results
SAN DIEGO -- Unfazed by an impressive contingent of runners from No. 7 Chico State, graduate student
Hasna Kaarour turned in the best performance of her Academy of Art career, winning the 26th annual Triton Classic hosted by UC San Diego. Kaarour led the women to sixth overall while the men took fifth behind strong efforts from graduate students
Victor Moreau and
Freddie Hessian.
"I was so excited to win this race today in San Diego," said Kaarour. "The course was very hilly so it wasn't easy. In the beginning, I just wanted to have a fast start to have a good position because the trails were very narrow. I was directly ahead and I was so surprised, but I felt very good so I decided to keep the pace and stay ahead. I'm really happy to win the race in this way."
The tandem of Moreau and Hessian paced the Urban Knights through the 8k race that covered UCSD's North Campus Athletic Fields. Out of a 90-runner field, Moreau crossed the finish line in 11th overall (25:58.8) while Hessian was just two spots behind his teammate in 13th (26:01.5). Redshirt junior
Rabah Houali was the third ART U qualifier, going 26:43.0 for 26th and freshman
Hudson Lockette clocked in at 40th (27:14.4). Redshirt freshman
Logan Briner rounded out the Academy of Art top five with a 52nd-place finish (27:56.9).
Led by top-finisher Wyatt Baxter (25:34.9), No. 4 Chico State dominated the men's meet with the first seven finishers incredibly all Wildcats. ART U claimed fifth overall, just six points behind host UC San Diego and more than 40 points ahead of sixth-place Azusa Pacific.
Kaarour, who had gone 22:10.6 in the first two races of her career with Academy of Art, dropped down to a 22:04.5 on Saturday as she completed the 6k race. She would claim first of 121 runners overall by more than two seconds as Point Loma's Hannah Benoit-Bucher came across at 22:06.9.
After serving as the fifth Knight to finish at the Conference Cross-Over, redshirt junior
Emma Johnson rose to the second position for ART U with a 37th-place result at 23:52.7. Redshirt senior
Chandler Johnson ran her first cross country race of the 2018 season and took 48th overall (24:16.6). The final two qualifiers, redshirt freshman
Alyssa Winter (59th, 24:47.3) and senior
Giulia McIsaac (60th, 24:50.5), were separated by just three seconds.
"I'm proud of my team's result," said Kaarour. "Everybody did well and that motivates us for the next races. We trust our coach for his good trainings and our investment. We will train hard for it and do it together."
As was the case on the men's side, No. 7 Chico State captured the team title, putting three finishers among the top nine. In sixth overall, the Urban Knights (173) were once again one spot behind host UCSD (150), but ahead of seventh-place Dixie State (181).
With its regular season now complete, Academy of Art looks ahead to the PacWest Conference Championships taking place Friday, Nov. 2 in Fresno. The meet starts with the men's 8k at 8 a.m. and follows with the women's 6k at 9 a.m. out at Woodward Park with Fresno Pacific serving as this year's host.
