The men’s and women’s UCSD cross country teams churned out impressive performances at the Willamette Cross-Country Invitational in Salem, Ore., on Oct. 4. The women finished second among 27 teams while the No. 19 Triton men captured a solid third-place finish out of 26 teams.
“”Both teams performed very well,”” said head coach Ted Van Arsdale. “”We were above several nationally-ranked teams and conference favorites.””
Competing in the College Division, comprised of NCAA Division II, Division III and NAIA programs, UCSD’s day was underscored by top-10 finishes in the women’s race for junior Lindsay Stalker and freshman sensation Tina Firouz, while a notable four runners placed in the top 21 in the men’s competition.
California Collegiate Athletic Association rival Chico State prevailed, winning the team titles in both events, with Wildcat runners Tyler Graff (24:15.97), a senior, and Katie Lee (17:48.29), a junior, winning the 8,000-meter men’s and 5,000-meter women’s races, respectively.
Stalker grabbed seventh place for the Triton women in 18:00.95, with Firouz following in 10th, cruising the difficult course in 18:06.27. Sophomore Michelle DiMeo (16th, 18:20.33), senior Kathy Read (18th, 18:22.75) and sophomore Bailey Kennedy (25th, 18:32.33) were the remaining point scorers for UCSD, as the Tritons were only outdistanced by Chico State, 42-75.
Sophomores Nina Miller (47th, 18:47.96), Erin O’Donnell (50th, 18:54.42), Mimi Hodgins (57th, 19:02.45) and Lindsey Young (80th, 19:23.99), along with freshman Brenda Stevens (83rd, 19:25.55), rounded out the UCSD field.
A total of 189 runners took part, with all of the 10 total UCSD women entered into the meet coming well within the top half of the runners.
Senior Neil Kalra came in 11th out of 250 competitors on the men’s side in 24:39.39. Senior John Morrison (15th, 24:55.82), junior Robert Eap (17th, 24:59.97) and sophomore Carl Lostrom (21st, 25:06.63) all ran close to him to score important points for UCSD.
According to Van Arsdale, Kalra made the top-25 all-time performance list, taking the second-best position in the record books with his Willamette Invitational performance.
Freshman Steve Vargas was the other point scorer with a time of 25:34:78, good enough for 41st place.
“”Vargas had an incredible time for a freshman,”” Van Arsdale said.
The ten UCSD men entered all came within the top quarter of all the total runners entered.
The Triton men totaled 99 points, falling behind Chico State with 45 and Eastern Oregon with 58. Other UCSD athletes in the field included senior Julian Nahan (48th, 25:45.41), sophomores Chris Beetley-Hagler (50th, 25:48.16) and Kevin Ray (65th, 26:09.55), senior Richey Hansen (83rd, 26:24.28) and freshman Daniel Holligan (84th, 26:24.56).
“”Nahan had some little struggles at one point, but really stepped it up,”” Van Arsdale said.
All races were noticeably close, with Chico State women’s champion Lee finishing only slightly more than five seconds ahead of the pack at 17:48 on the five kilometer course.
The great achievement of UCSD at this meet was particularly striking due to the fact that both Chico State squads were ranked No. 4 in the nation and No. 1 in the West Region, respectively.
“”Chico State is a conference favorite,”” Van Arsdale said.
The Triton cross country teams will next host the UC San Diego Triton Classic on Oct. 11 at the North Campus Course. The 6,000-meter women’s race will begin at 8:30 a.m., followed by the 8,000-meter men’s race at 9:30 a.m.
“”Our team success is based on the tight team commitment, and we are running at championship-quality pace,”” Van Arsdale said.
