Breaking News
Chico State's independent student newspaper

The Orion

Chico State's independent student newspaper

The Orion

Chico State's independent student newspaper

The Orion

Cross country teams open season against Division I foes

Published 2008-09-17T00:00:00Z”/>

archives

Thomas Lawrence

The women’s and the defending California Collegiate Athletic Association champion men’s cross country teams returned to the track and began the season’s journey at the 64th annual Aztec Cross Country Invitational in San Diego on Saturday.

The men finished fifth and the women finished 11th overall in a group chock-full of Division I competitors.

The Wildcats, the No. 3 team in the nation on the men’s side and No. 4 on the women’s, faced Division I foes such as Brigham Young University, Northern Arizona University and UC Santa Barbara in the 8-kilometer invite.

For the men, five Wildcats finished in the top 50, including top performer and All-American sophomore Brendan Scanlon, who came in at a time of 25 minutes, 16 seconds.

Behind Scanlon were senior Angel Marquez at 25:46, junior Jordan Fairley at 25:47, junior Beau Rogers at 25:56 and junior Thomas Whitcomb at 25:58.

“It was pretty awesome, we ran really well ? the team ran together,” senior Danny DiMeo said, who came in 78th with a time of 26:42.

Taking on Division I opponents is usually more fun for DiMeo and his teammates, he said. There was a high level of intensity in the race, which was “pushing and shoving.”

“Even though it was the beginning of the year, it didn’t really affect us,” DiMeo said.

Sophomore Manny Mejia, who came in 51st with a time of 26:12, agreed with DiMeo.

“It’s always fun to see how you compare to Division I schools,” Mejia said.

Taking on such talented, highly touted runners helps get the team used to their championship style, Mejia said.

“You know there’s good teams out there,” Mejia said. “We thought we had a good chance of winning.”

On the women’s side, the Wildcats finished with two runners in the top 50 in the 5-kilometer invite.

Sophomore Shannon McVannel finished 33rd with a time of 18:49, and redshirt freshman Alia Gray finished 43rd place with a mark of 18:55.

Rounding out the Wildcat women’s top five were sophomore Kara Lubieniecki at 18:59, former University of Washington Husky Tori Tyler at 19:01 and redshirt freshman Katie Spencer at 19:08.

“It wasn’t our best performance historically,” head coach Gary Towne said.

The team struggled with its top two runners out or off of their game, Towne said. Scott Bauhs was benched to catch up on rest after participating in the Olympic trials, and No. 2 runner Michael Wickman tried to stave off an ongoing illness that affects his breathing.

Both Wildcats cross country teams have the weekend off and will head to another Division I host’s competition, the Stanford Invitational on Sept. 27, in Palo Alto.

“Any time we go against top Division I teams it’s nice to kinda see how we stack up,” Towne said.

Thomas Lawrence can be reached at<a href= “mailto:[email protected]”>[email protected]</a>

<strong>Related links</strong><a href= “http://ustfccca.cstv.com/sports/division2/spec-rel/091608aai.html”>Division II Regional Rankings</a>

        Leave a Comment
        More to Discover

        Comments (0)

        All The Orion Picks Reader Picks Sort: Newest

        Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *