BERKELEY – California men's and women's cross country hit the ground running in Berkeley this past week just a fortnight ahead of the season opener at the USF Invitational on Sept. 1. A pack of 31 Golden Bears convened at Edwards Stadium to officially open the 2023 campaign.
 
Cal cross country has a five-fixture slate on the docket, with the Bears set to travel all across Northern California and the Pacific Northwest this fall. The team will begin in its own backyard for the USF Invite in San Francisco, then travels to Oregon for the Bill Dellinger Invitational before returning to the Bay Area for the Bronco Invitational hosted by Santa Clara. Postseason action will commence with the conference championships in Chambers Bay, Washington before Cal competes at the NCAA West Regionals in Sacramento.
 
At the moment, the Bears are preparing for the next three months of action with a combination of on-campus workouts and longer trail runs through the Berkeley terrain. Both the men's and women's sides benefit from training in the same environment while tailoring their regiments to their specific events, with the men set to race 8,000 meters at all regular-season meets and a 10,000-meter loop at regionals, while the women prepare to run 6,000 meters at every competition.
 
"It's great to be back on campus with the team after a long summer of solo miles," senior Garrett MacQuiddy said. "We all ran hundreds of miles back home, and everyone is really excited to be back training together. Our first workout on campus with the whole crew went really well."
 
MacQuiddy is one of 10 returners on the men's side who will be joined by a crop of newcomers in Alexander Lodewick, Justin Pretre, Roland Ruckmann-Barnes, Julian Doak and Lamarr Kirk Jr. Although a third of the men's squad has never donned the Blue & Gold, MacQuiddy is confident that the team is set up for success this season: "I think we have one of the deepest and fastest teams in the past couple of years. You can't build a strong cross country team around one or two fast individuals, we need the back-end scoring depth through six or seven guys, and I am really confident that we have guys – both returners and strong freshmen – who are ready to step up."
 
On the women's side, senior Claire Yerby leads a squad of 16 runners made up of entirely underclassmen or new Cal student-athletes. Transfer students Sage Holter and Cecelia Zielkle and freshmen Anastasia Snodgrass, Amelia Stacey, Petra Schuster, Addie Johnson, Sophie Tau, Louie McNatt and Dasha Zerboni will all join the Bears' roster for the new season.
 
"It's super exciting to have so many new faces on campus this year," Yerby said. "I like the energy that everyone is bringing to practice and I can't wait to see what's in store for this group."
 
Fellow senior and team leader Gabriel Abbes echoed Yerby's sentiments: "It feels super refreshing to have a group with a mindset willing and capable of pushing far into the postseason and putting their hearts on the line. I notice a ton of love for the sport and care for the culture. I'm super fortunate to have awesome teammates with me as we toe the line."
 
The USF Invitational commences Sept. 1 with the women's race at 2 p.m. PST followed by the men's race at 3:30 p.m. Live individual times and team scores will be available on CalBears.com.
 
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