The UCSD women’s cross country team qualified for the NCAA Division II National Championships for the fifth-straight season by narrowly outrunning California Collegiate Athletic Association champion Chico State in the 2006 West Regionals on Nov. 4.
The Tritons finished in third place, edging Chico State by just one point to claim one of the four top spots that guarantees a bid to the national championships.
Chico State looked poised to defend its West Regional championship title from last season after winning the CCAA title at UCSD on Oct. 21. However, UCSD, as well as Cal State Los Angeles and Seattle Pacific University, dashed those hopes in a tightly contested women’s race that pitted the defending champs against the best in the west.
According to UCSD head coach Ted Van Arsdale, the West Regional title was up for grabs as any of the top four teams could have prevailed on the day, with a mere 10 points separating the top four qualifying teams.
“”That was an incredible competition,”” Van Arsdale said. “”The four teams were so good.””
Cal State Los Angeles finished first with 67 points over Seattle Pacific University with 70 points. UCSD finished with 76 points, which was good enough to beat out Chico State.
Seattle Pacific University freshman Jessica Pixler cut the tape with a first-place time of 20 minutes, 46.1 seconds over Chico State senior Mary Torres and Central Washington University junior Katie Hummel.
Cal State Los Angeles took the title with impressive fourth-, fifth- and seventh-place finishes by senior Pilar Delgado, junior Karla Alburez and senior Maija Rhode, respectively. Cal State Los Angeles finished second in the CCAA championship with five runners in the top 15.
Junior team captain Diane Dunn was the first Triton to cross the line, coming in at sixth place with a time of 21:31.05. Junior Emily McGregor finished 10th with a time of 21:47.41.
Dunn said that the team was well aware that the race would be tough.
“”We knew for the three top spots we were going to have to run hard,”” Dunn said.
Both Dunn and McGregor qualified for the All-West Region team, which is composed of the top 15 runners of the day.
The Lady Tritons also finished third in the CCAA championships on Oct. 21, failing to repeat their previous standing as Chico State regained its title. The Wildcats have won four CCAA titles in the last five years.
Coming off their best campaign in Division II competition, the Tritons have had to jump some hurdles this season in replacing three of its top seven runners, including former All-American team captain Mimi Hodgins.
Despite these issues, this season’s team isn’t running on empty.
“”Our team is just as good as last year,”” Dunn said. “”I know if we run as well as we did today that … we could be successful.””
On the men’s side, the team failed to qualify for the national championships for the third straight year by finishing fifth at the West Regionals.
Only the top three finishers in the West Regionals.
Chico State blew away the competition on the men’s side with a score of 32. All five of Chico State’s top runners finished in the top 15, which is an amazing feat, given that the nearest competitor was Cal Poly Pomona, which garnered 116 points and had only one top-15 runner in the race.
Freshman Jesse Morrill finished first for the Tritons in 11th place with a time of 33:05.27.
For the women’s team, the West Regionals was a stepping stone on the way to this month’s national championship race, and the chance to improve on last season’s performance.
“”[It was a] great competition, and Chico [State] put on a terrific meet,”” Van Arsdale said. “”The objective was to qualify and go on.””
With the West Coast hurdles behind them, the Lady Tritons will travel to Pensacola, Fla. for the NCAA Division II National Championship on Nov. 18.
