RIVERSIDE, Calif. (Sept. 27, 2025) – Sophomore cross country star Maya Natarajan ran her way to a first-place finish at the UC Riverside Invitational, pacing the 5K Open Division, on the UCR Ag/Ops Course on Saturday.

The second-year runner is no stranger to success on the course and today was no different, crossing the line in 17:35.8, a full six seconds ahead of her closest competition. Additionally, her time in 2025 was a one-minute and four second improvement on her performance at the same course a year ago. She was rewarded for her efforts with WSC Runner of the Week and 3C2A Runner of the Week honors.

As a tune-up for league and state championships on the horizon in late October and November, the team continues to prepare for those meets with tough courses and competition and has shown improvement week in and week out.

Keira Kassi suited up for the first time of the fall and produced a time of 21:14.4, which was a minute and a half faster than she ran the course a year ago. Other course improvements came from Kayla Saxton (43 seconds) and Addison Pereira (20 seconds) who finished in 19:48.0 and 20:42.8, respectively.

While Natalia Beltran did not run this specific course last fall, her 5K time of 20:35.3 was two minutes faster than her 2024 season best, showcasing a giant improvement.

Rounding out the Raiders runners on Saturday were freshman Dulce Godinez (20:50.3) and Isabella Shattuck (22:39.4).

Moorpark returns to competitive racing on Friday, Oct. 24 at the Western State Conference Championships beginning at 11:00 a.m.

Women’s Cross Country
Results: UCR Invitational 5K Open
Instagram: @mcraiders_athletics
Facebook: MC Raiders