OREM, Utah — Utah Valley University is headed to Southern California this weekend to race at the UC Riverside Cross Country Invitational. The meet will be held on Saturday morning at the UCR Agricultural Operations Course, with both an invitational and an open for both the men and women.
 
The women's 6k invitational begins at 7:15 a.m. PT/8:15 a.m. MT before the men's 8k invitational at 7:50 a.m. PT. The open races start at 8:25 a.m. PT with the women's 5k and conclude with the men's 8k at 8:55 a.m. PT. Results will be available online at www.finishedresults.com. Fans must purchase tickets online, at https://highlanderstickets.universitytickets.com.   
 
The Wolverines opened the 2023 season on Sept. 1 as they hosted the UVU Invitational. The Utah Valley women won the team race behind individual winner Morgan Nokes, who earned the WAC's Runner of the Week award following her win. UVU had six of the top nine finishers, with Abbie Fuhriman coming in just three seconds behind Nokes for second place. Ari Trimble, Anna Martin, and Oakley Olson came in spots four through six, and Abby Linford came in ninth.
 
Joel Mendez was the top Wolverine finisher on the men's side with a third-place result, while Mo Guled, who ran unattached but will be part of the squad this weekend, took fourth. Three other UVU runners finished in the top 10, with Austin Hone seventh, Gilbert Olivas eighth, and Gio Ramirez in 10th. Abdulsalam Farah, who ran at Utah State's Sagebrush Invitational on Sept. 2 and finished second overall, will also compete on Saturday.
 
After this weekend's races, Utah Valley will head to Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, for the Paul Short Run at Lehigh University on Saturday, Sept. 30.