FULLERTON, Calif. – The Titans kicked off the 2026 cross country season with the annual Mark Covert Classic at the Green River Golf Course. Cal State Fullerton honored Mark Covert with the presentation of his National Champion ring prior to the races on Saturday morning.
 
Both the men's and women's teams placed first at the season opener. The women had four athletes finish in the top ten, finishing with a team total of 35 points, and the men had two in the top ten, logging 54 points.
 
Makena Oliva finished first overall in the women's 6k with a career-best time of 20:46.2. Oliva crossed the finish line six seconds before the runner-up. Titans transfer from Mt. SAC, Casey McConn, finished in fourth with a personal-best 20:59.1. In sixth place, Barbora Svobodova finished at the 21:02.2 mark, and Kate Woodside rounded out the top 10 with a 21:13.5 finish.
 
On the men's side, Noah Chairez led the Titans, finishing in sixth with a time of 25:16.7 in the 8k. Carlos Maradiaga finished 10^th at the 25:28.1 mark. Just less than a second behind Maradiaga came Titans newcomer, Mason Nguyen.
 
The Titans are back in action on Saturday, Sep. 19 at the UCR Invite in Riverside, California.
 
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Fans can purchase tickets for various Cal State Fullerton athletic events by visiting FullertonTitansTickets.com. The Athletic Ticket Office can also be contacted by phone at 657-278-2783 or by email at athletictixs@fullerton.edu. The Ticket Office is located at the Titan Baseball ticketing office and is open from 10 am – 4 pm PT, Monday – Friday. 

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