2002 WAC CROSS COUNTRY CHAMPIONSHIP -
The SMU men and the Rice women both take home their second WAC Cross Country crowns as they earn 30 and 68 points, respectively, winning the 2002 WAC Championship. UTEP's Bashir Ibrahim won his second individual title in as many years, while SMU's Karin van Rooyen won her first WAC title. Host SMU held this season's championship at Norbuck Park in Dallas.
On the men's side, SMU's 30 points were 33 better than second place UTEP. Tulsa finished third with 71 points, while Boise State was fourth with 85. In fifth was Fresno State with 110, then Rice with 150. Louisiana Tech (190) was seventh, with San Jose State rounding out the men's field with 222.
Individually for the men, Bashir Ibrahim of UTEP won his second WAC crown with a time of 24:24 in the 8k championship. Behind him was SMU's Mindi Pukstas (24:29). Andy Norman of Tulsa earned a bronze with a time of 24:56. In fourth was Dalibor Balgac of SMU (25:00), while fifth was occupied by Dirk de Heer of UTEP (25:02).
For the women, Rice earned its second WAC crown with a total of 68 points. In second was Tulsa (85) followed by Nevada (87). UTEP earned a fourth-place finish with 93 points, while SMU's 95 was good for fifth. Boise State edged Hawai'i by one point with 157 to finish sixth. Fresno State (165), San Jose State (226) and Louisiana Tech (315) rounded out the field.
SMU's Karin van Rooyen followed up a third-place finish in 2001 with a gold-medal in the 2002 championship, with a time of 17:01 in the 5k championship. Fellow Mustang Emily Field crossed at 17:20 to finish second. Grabbing the bronze medal was Hawai'i's Victoria Chang (17:42). In fourth was UTEP's Corine van Beek (17:56), while Nevada's Emma Garrard rounded out the top five with a time 18:02.
2002 ALL-WAC HONORS -
Men
First Team Second Team
Bashir Ibrahim, UTEP Sebastian Hock, SMU
Mindi Pukstats, SMU Amos Skinner, SMU
Andy Norman, Tulsa Ben Orozco, Tulsa
Dalibor Balgac, SMU Miles Wiscombe, BSU
Dirk de Heer, UTEP Fernando Cabada, FS
Ruben Diz-Diaz, UTEP Michael Ciampini, BSU
Graham Davidson, SMU Owain Matthews, Tulsa
Athlete of the Year: Bashir Ibrahim, Sr., UTEP
Freshman of the Year: Soeren Linder, SMU
Coach of the Year: Rene Sepulveda, SMU
Women
First Team Second Team
Karin van Rooyen, SMU Jenna Huber, Nevada
Emily Field, SMU Tanya Wright, Rice
Victoria Chang, Hawaii Sarah Haskins, Tulsa
Corine van Beek, UTEP Natalie Rasmussen, TU
Emma Garrard, Nevada Kara June, FS
Robin Wemple, BSU Summer Bell, Rice
Kate Gorry, Rice Monica Joannes, Tulsa
Athlete of the Year: Karin van Rooyen, So., SMU
Freshman of the Year: Kate Gorry, Rice
Coach of the Year: Jim Bevan, Rice
TEAMS PREPARE FOR NCAA REGIONALS - All 10 WAC school will be traveling throughout the country for the 2002 NCAA Regionals, looking to qualify for the NCAA Championship.
Out west, in Palo Alto, Calif., Stanford is hosting the Western Regional at the Stanford Golf Course. San Jose State, Fresno State, Boise State and Hawaii will all be in the Golden State. Tulsa is the lone WAC competitor in the Midwest Regional as they head to Normal, Illinois (Illinois State) and the Redbird Cross Country Trail. The Mountain Regional will play host to both Nevada and UTEP. New Mexico will host the event on the universitys North Golf Course. At the South Central Regional will be Louisiana Tech, Rice and SMU. Cottonwood Creak Golf Course and Baylor will play host tho this regional in Waco, Texas.
QUALIFYING FOR THE NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP - In order to be eligible to participate in the championships, teams and individuals must qualify in their respective NCAA regions.
Thirty-one teams are selected to participate in each championship. The top two, seven-person teams automatically qualified from each of the nine regions, for a total of 18 teams. Thirteen additional teams were selected at-large.
Thirty-eight individuals, the first four from each region and two additional qualifiers, are selected to participate in each championship. All individual qualifiers must finish in the top 25 in their region.
INDIANA STATE TO HOST 2002 CROSS COUNTRY CHAMPIONSHIP - Indiana State University will host the 2002 NCAA Division I Men's and Women's Cross Country Championships, November 25, at the Wabash Valley Family Sports Center Lavern Gibson Championship Course, Terre Haute, Indiana. The women's race will begin at noon followed by the men's race at 1:15 p.m.