GLENDALE — The following are updates on area athletes at the collegiate level.
Vivien Wadeck (Glendale Community College, 2008) senior, Cal State Los Angeles cross-country: Wadeck, who helped Glendale college win the 2007 state championship, was tabbed the California Collegiate Athletic Assn. Female Cross Country Runner of the Week last week, the conference announced Monday.
She earned the accolade for the first time this season and for the fourth time since arriving at Cal State Los Angeles.
On Saturday, Wadeck finished eighth out of 217 runners at the UC Riverside Invitational. She clocked 17 minutes 17.4 seconds on the 5K course.
Her mark was 11 seconds faster from last season’s event.
Wadeck, the defending CCAA individual champion, helped the Golden Eagles finish 13th with 383 points. UC Riverside took the event with 89 points, followed by Brigham Young University (98) — BYU, however, did not have Crescenta Valley graduates Rachel Lange and Michelle Callister in the race.
Cal Poly Pomona’s Tiffany Turner, a former Crescenta Valley and Glendale college student, took 63rd at Riverside in 18:11.3. Turner finished just in front of Cal State Northridge’s Zitalic Ley, another former GCC runner, who finished 64th in 18:12.
Wadeck’s teammate at CSLA and another former Vaquero, Justina Sadauskaite, finished 108th in 18:50.2.
Eric Kleinsasser (Crescenta Valley High, 2008) sophomore, Occidental College cross-country: After turning in a stellar freshman campaign, the former All-Area selection is starting where he left off.
On Saturday, Kleinsasser finished fifth at the Sundodger Invitational at the University of Washington. He ran a personal-best 24 minutes 55 seconds in the 8K men’s open race, which featured 211 runners.
Kleinsasser, the 2008 Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Runner of the Year, began his and Occidental’s season at the Redlands Invitational on Sept. 12.
Kleinsasser won the 6K race in 19:03, leading his team to a fourth-place finish.
The Tigers are back in action Oct. 3 at the West Region Preview Meet at Pomona-Pitzer College.
Zack Torres (Crescenta Valley High, 2009) freshman, UCLA cross-country: Torres, the two-time reigning News-Press Male Athlete of the Year, ran his second collegiate race on Saturday.
He clocked 22 minutes 5 seconds to finish sixth for the Bruins and 18th overall at the Dave Murray Invitational in Tucson, Ariz.
