THIS WEEK IN THE WAC
Friday, October 10
San Jose State at Gator Invitational, San Francisco, Calif.
Saturday, October 11
Hawai?i at HPU Invitational, Kane’ohe, Oahu
Fresno State at UCSD Triton Classic, La Jolla, Calif.
LAST WEEK IN THE WAC
Monday, September 29
Louisiana Tech at Northwestern State Invitational, W-3rd/7
Friday, October 3
New Mexico State at Arizona State Invite, M-1st/5, W-1st/6
Saturday, October 4
Nevada at Doc Adams Invitational, No Team Score
Utah State at Notre Dame Invitational, M-16th/25, W-21st/23
Fresno State at Pepperdine Invitational, M-2nd/9, W-DNS
Louisiana Tech at Tiger Invitational, M-8th/24
Idaho at Willamette Invitational, M-2nd/15, W-2nd/16
Boise State at Willamette Invitational, M-3rd/15, W-3rd/16
Louisiana Tech at Centenary Invitational, W-T3rd/6
TEAM-BY-TEAM NOTES
Boise State Broncos
While it was overcast and raining on the course, the sun was shining on the BSU cross country team as both the men’s and women’s team earned third place finishes at the 34th Annual Charles Bowles Invitational ... leading the way for the men’s team was sophomore Sawyer Bosch as he cruised his way to a third place finish after clocking a time of 24:41.52 in the men’s 8k run ... during the women’s 5k, it was Boise State’s Breanna Sande who was the top finisher for the Broncos as she placed eighth with a time of 18:15.26 ... the Broncos take a week to rest up before traveling to California to compete at the Santa Clara Invitational, Oct. 18.
Fresno State Bulldogs
Both the men’s and women’s cross country teams put on strong displays of leadership and endurance at the Pepperdine Invitational ... the men took second in the nine-team event, led by sophomore Erick Garcia’s first-place individual finish ... the women were unable to score as a team, due to an injury to the fifth runner ... however, each of the four racers completing the race showed dramatic individual improvement ... Garcia defended his title, winning the men’s 8K for the second year in a row with a time of 24:25.19 ... on the women’s side, Marissa McPhail continued to lead the Bulldogs, this time setting the pace, not just for Fresno State, but for the entire race.
Hawai?i Rainbow Wahine
Hawai’i did not compete last week ... the team returns to the course on Oct. 11 at the HPU Invitational 5K in Kane’ohe, O’ahu.
Idaho Vandals
Idaho’s men’s and women’s cross country teams each finished second, senior runner Allix Lee-Painter won the women’s race and Vandal cross country showed its clout for the second straight season at the Charles Bowles Invitational Saturday at Salem, Ore ... Lee-Painter earned her second victory of the year in her third meet with a dominant effort in the women’s 5k, as she easily outdistanced the field with a time of 17:30.87. The second-best collegiate runner at the meet was more than 33 seconds behind ...on the men’s side, Markus Geiger was the team’s top finisher, with a time of 25:19.42 in the 8k course to come in 13th overall and sixth among collegiate runners.
Louisiana Tech
Louisiana Tech split up to compete in three races last week ... The women placed third at the NSU Invitational at the Demon Hills Golf Course near the campus of Northwestern State ... Chelsea Dressell led the Techsters with a seventh place finish overall with a time of 22 minutes ... the men competed at the Auburn Invitational where Kinsey Dinnel ran to a thirteenth place finish while leading Tech to an overall eighth place finish ... Dinnel’s 23 minutes, 27 second time in the five-mile race also marks the second-best time in the history of Bulldog cross country ... the women also tied for third at the Centenary Invite.
Nevada Wolf Pack
Freshman Christy Works posted the second top-20 finish of her young career Saturday morning with a 20th place finish at the Doc Adams Invite hosted by UC Davis ... Works finished 20th out of 38 runners at the 6K race held at the Putah Creek Reserve Cross Country Course ... Works established her 6K PR at 24:05.60 ... she also recorded a 20th place finish at the 4K Nevada Twilight Cross Country Classic to open the 2008 season ... senior Kara LaPoint, who is in her first season with the Nevada cross country team, finished 22nd and established her 6K PR at 24:14.80 ... Nevada did not record a team score as only two runners competed for the Pack.
New Mexico State Aggies
The men’s and women’s cross country teams both brought home first-place finishes, Friday, Oct. 3, at the Arizona State Invitational ... on the women’s side, NMSU recorded a near perfect score of 16 points, as five Aggies finished within the top 10 places, in less than a minute spread ... Brandi Gutierrez led the women across the finish line in the 5k race, placing second overall, while stopping the clock at 18:21.9. Sophomore Amy Arenas was second to cross for NMSU, claiming the bronze medal overall with a time of 18:46.5 ... on the men’s side, freshman Ian Ruybalid paced the Aggies in the 8k race, with a ninth-place finish in a time of 26:32.1.
San Jose State Spartans
The Spartans did not compete last week ... the team will be back in action on Friday, Oct. 10 at the San Francisco State Gator Invitational.
Utah State Aggies
Utah State’s Ben Kessen finished 40th individually to lead the Aggie men to a 16th-place team finish at the Notre Dame Invitational ... Kessen has now been USU’s top male finisher in each of its four meets this fall ... Florida State won both team titles as 25 men’s teams and 23 women’s teams competed ... Kessen, a senior from La Crescenta, Calif., ran the 8K course in 24:30 ... senior Caroline Berry was Utah State’s top female runner as she came in 108th to help the Aggie women finish 21st out of 23 teams ... Berry completed the 5K course in 18:11 ... Utah State will return to action on Saturday, Oct. 18 when it travels to Terre Haute, Ind., to compete in a Pre-Nationals meet.
WAC NOTES
FRESNO STATE’S GARCIA, IDAHO’S LEE-PAINTER NAMED CROSS COUNTRY ATHLETES OF THE WEEK
Fresno State’s Erick Garcia and Idaho’s Allix Lee-Painter have been named the Western Athletic Conference men and women’s Cross Country Athletes of the Week, respectively, for the week of Sept. 29 ? Oct. 5.
Garcia, a sophomore from Parlier, Calif. (Parlier HS), won the individual title at the Pepperdine Invitational for a second consecutive year, crossing the 8K finish line with a time of 24:25.19. Garcia finished ahead of 88 other competitors for the first place finish. Garcia’s performance helped Fresno State to a second place team finish.
Lee-Painter, a senior from Moscow, Idaho (Moscow HS), defeated a field of 165 runners at the Charles Bowles Invitational in Salem, Oregon. Lee-Painter finished first with a 5K time of 17:30.37, which was 33 seconds faster than the next collegiate finisher. Her finish helped the Vandal women take second overall out of 16 teams.
Other Men’s Nominees: Idaho’s Markus Geiger took 13th and sixth among collegiate runners at the Charles Bowles Invitational with an 8K time of 25:19.42 ... Louisiana Tech’s Kinsey Dinnel placed 13th with a five-mile time of 23:27?the second-best time in Bulldog cross country history ... New Mexico State’s Ian Ruybalid placed ninth with an 8K time of 26:32.1 at the Arizona State Invitational ... Utah State’s Ben Kessen finished 40th at the Notre Dame Invitational with an 8K time of 24:30.
Other Women’s Nominees: Fresno State’s Marissa McPhail placed fifth out of 97 racers at the Pepperdine Invitational with a 6K time of 21:23.51 ... New Mexico State’s Brandi Gutierrez led the Aggies to a first place team finish at the Arizona State Invitational with a 5K time of 18:21.9, placing her second individually ... Utah State senior Caroline Berry came in 108th to help the Aggie women finish 21st at the Notre Dame Invitational, clocking a 5K time of 18:11.
WAC CHAMPIONSHIP
The 2008 WAC Cross Country Championship travels to Las Cruces, New Mexico. This year’s championships will be held Saturday, Nov. 1 at the New Mexico State Golf Course. Utah State won last year’s men’s championship, while Idaho took the title on the women’s side.
November 1, 2008
Las Cruces, New Mexico
Host: New Mexico State
New Mexico State Golf Course
Admission: Free
NCAA REGIONALS
The 2008 Cross Country Regionals will be held at nine sites throughout the country, Saturday, Nov. 15. WAC teams will be represented in three locations. The West Region will be held in Stanford, Calif. (Stanford University). The Mountain Region will be held in For Collins, Colo. (Colorado State University), while Louisiana Tech will be the lone team in the South Central Regional (Baylor) in Waco, Texas.
November 15, 2008
Great Lakes Region - Purdue University
Mid Atlantic Region - Princeton University
Midwest Region - Oklahoma State University
Mountain Region - Colorado State University
Northeast Region - Columbia University-Barnard College
South Region - University of Tennessee, Knoxville
South Central Region - Baylor University
Southeast Region - Wake Forest University
West Region - Stanford University
NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS ? The 2008 Cross Country National Championships once again travels to Terre Haute, Ind. and Wabash Valley Family Sports Center. Indiana State is the host for this year’s Championships.
November 24, 2008
Wabash Valley Family Sports Center
Terre Haute, Ind.
Host: Indiana State University
Ticket Info: 812/237-4040