The UCSD men’s and women’s cross country teams both placed second in the 2003 NCAA Division II West Regionals on Nov. 8, qualifying both teams for the NCAA Division II National Championships on Nov. 22.
Going south: UCSD cross country will go to Nationals in Raleigh, N.C.
Each team has been in the Division II National Championships only once with the men taking 15th place in 2001 at Slippery Rock, Penn., and the women taking 17th place in Ashland, Ohio, in 2002.
The winners on the men’s and women’s sides were from Chico State, which entered the meet with both teams ranked No. 1 in the West region. The Wildcats won by a large margin over UCSD, with a men’s score of 28 points to UCSD’s 79 points while the women won with a score of 38 points to UCSD’s 124 points. This is the second consecutive division title for Chico State’s men’s team and the first ever for the women’s team.
Placing in third on the women’s side was Cal State Stanislaus with a score of 176 points, just one shy of fourth-place finisher Alaska-Anchorage.
For the men, Cal Poly Pomona took third with a score of 91 points. Rounding out the top four was Western Washington with 105 points.
The top four finishers from the West Regionals earned a berth to the NCAA National Championships to be held in Raleigh, N.C., later this month.
Two Triton men earned All-Region honors, as junior Robert Eap finished the course in 32 minutes, 38.2 seconds, giving him a ninth-place overall finish out of 116 competitors. This honor is in addition to his All-California Collegiate Athletic Association distinction for his contribution to UCSD’s third-place finish at the CCAA Championships on Oct. 25.
Senior Julian Nahan also secured his All-Region honors with a 14th-place finish of 32:48.2.
The other top scorers for UCSD were sophomore Carl Lostrom placing 18th (33:11.4), followed by senior Neil Kalra placing 19th (33.12.0) and senior John Morrison taking 22nd (33:23.1). The other UCSD racers on the men’s side were sophomore Chris Beetley-Hagler, placing 34th (34:01.9) and senior Eric Nilsen placing 65th (35:19.7).
Tina Firouz, 2003 Freshman of the Year and All-CCAA honoree, finished at the top for UCSD taking sixth place overall out of 154 competitors with a time of 22:25.5. Firouz also earned All-Region honors with her finish.
Sophomore Michelle DiMeo took 24th (23:25.0) followed by senior Amanda Felder placing 25th (23:26.1). Rounding out the point scorers for UCSD were seniors Lillian Gardiner who took 33rd place (23:39.3) and Kathy Read finishing at 36th place (23:39.3). The other racers were junior Lindsay Stalker and sophomore Erin O’Donnell finishing 37th and 44th, respectively.
The UCSD men’s and women’s cross country teams pack their bags and fly to Raleigh, N.C., for the NCAA Division II National Championships on Nov. 22.
