REDLANDS, Calif. — The Caltech women's and men's cross country teams kicked off their 2023 seasons on Saturday as they took on the annual Redlands Invitational. The women finished runners-up among the five teams competing while the men grabbed third.

In the women's race, three Beavers placed in the top-seven out of 47 total competitors as the teams took on the 4500-meter distance. Sophomore Gigi Pistilli (18:05.20), junior Sophie Dalfonzo (18:05.70) and senior Lauren Garriques (18:08.40) finished 5-6-7 in the race. The pack of three were soon followed by senior Katy Chu, who crossed the line at 18:20.20, for tenth. Sophomore Elisa Grillo rounded out the Beavers' top-five, earning 15th place overall (19:14.60).

Caltech's top-five scorers averaged 18:22.82 for the 4.5K course.

The squad's first-years — Layla Adeli (19:57.80, 21st) and Zara Kanold-Tso (20:06.70, 23rd) — earned the sixth and seventh spots for the group.

The men's team tackled a 6000-meter-long course en route to a third-place finish. The team would put three athletes in the top-12, with 58 total runners competing. Leading the charge was standout Joey Litvin, who placed sixth overall with a time of 19:41.80, followed seconds later by first-year Ryan Fortin (19:48.70, eighth). Fellow first-year Colin La finished third for the squad and 12th overall with a time of 20:06.80.

Sophomore Jacob Wolmer placed 18th overall (20:43.30) while senior Patrick Martinez rounded out the Beavers' top-five with a 20:48.70 finish for 22nd place. A slew of teammates followed Martinez, with first-year Nathan Jay (20:57.70), senior Kyle Piper (20:58.40) and first-year Richard Hoffman (21:08.70) finishing 23rd, 24th and 25th.

The team's top-five runners averaged 20:13.86.

Next up for the two programs is the Sep. 16 UC Riverside Invitational at the Agricultural Operations Course in Riverside. The women's race will begin at 7:15 a.m. while the men will compete at 7:50 a.m. Tickets for the meet can be purchased here.

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