Congratulations go out to UC Riverside freshman Chad Hall of Big Bear who was named Less Big West Freshman of the Year in cross ocuntry. Coach Irv Ray was named Coach of the Year.

Ray led the UC Riverside program to new heights in just its eighth year of
Division I membership. After finishing last in the womens race at the
conference meet as recently as 2004, the Highlanders claimed their first Big
West cross country championship this season.

The Highlandersd had two top-10 finishers at the conference meet in Cristina Olivas (Bloomington HS) and Brenda Martinez (Rancho Cucamonga HS), achieved its highest regional ranking ever (#5) and received votes in the national poll.

Hall had a big impact on the UCR program in his first year of competition.
Hall is not only the first Highlander to ever win a major Big West cross
country award, but also is the first non-Cal Poly runner to win Mens
Freshman of the Year accolades. At the UCR Invitational, he blazed to a
24:04.9 finish, setting the school and course record. The two-time Big West
Athlete of the Week also finished 11th at the conference meet, finishing the
race in 24:50.

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