RIVERSIDE, Calif. — Cal State Monterey Bay's young talent continued to impress Saturday morning as the Otter men's and women's cross country teams turned in strong performances at the 45th annual UC Riverside Invitational at the UCR Ag Ops Course.
 
"I am so impressed with these teams," CSUMB head coach Greg Rhines said. "My mind is blown when thinking of where we are now, compared with where we were a few years ago. I believe these teams are coming up to a new level of competitiveness."
 
The CSUMB men earned a third-place finish in the Men's Open 8K, scoring 141 points and trailing only Southern Utah and Concordia Irvine in the 20-team field. Monterey Bay finished ahead of Fresno State, Redlands, Caltech and Claremont-Mudd-Scripps, among others.
 
Freshmen occupied three of the Otters' first four finishing positions, led by Nathan Cazares. Cazares crossed the line in 25:25.6, placing 18th overall and 15th among scoring runners. His time was the second fastest ever by a CSUMB freshman.
 
Oren Hill was close behind, finishing 24th overall in 25:32.1, while fellow freshman Gabriel Avalos crossed in 25:38.4 to place 30th. Senior Jake Walton gave CSUMB four runners among the top 40, finishing 40th in 25:45.9.
 
Hanival Osorio-Martinez completed the Otters' scoring five with a time of 26:09.6. Erik Bromley (26:18.6) and Carson Lynch (26:24.8) rounded out Monterey Bay's top seven.
 
CSUMB's five scoring runners combined for a time of 2:08:31 and averaged 25:42 over the 8K course. The Otters finished 33 points ahead of fourth-place Fresno State.
 
CSUMB will have two weeks to prepare for its next competition, traveling to Santa Clarita for the TMU Invitational on Saturday, Oct. 3, at Central Park.