Cross Country Teams Visit Oregon for Pac-10 Championship
October 28, 1998
Saturday, Oct. 31
UW X-Country at Pacific-10 Conference Championships
Alton Baker Park; Eugene, Ore.
11:00 a.m. PST Women's 5,000-meter race
11:30 a.m. PST Men's 8,000-meter race
This Week:
The Washington men's and women's cross country teams compete for their respective titles at the Pacific-10 Conference championship meet, Saturday, Oct. 31, in Eugene, Ore. The 12th-ranked Washington women seek to capture their first Pac-10 title since 1989 after finishing second each of the past two seasons. The Husky women's team has placed among the top four in the Pac-10 eight of the last nine seasons. The UW men look to improve upon a sixth place finish from a year ago. They had a fourth-place finish in 1995 and were the team runners-up in 1994 after winning the conference crown in 1993. Both races will be contested at Eugene's Alton Baker Park. The women run the 5,000-meter (3.11 mile) loop at 11:00 a.m. followed by the men's 8,000-meter (4.97 mile) race at 11:30 a.m. On the women's side, Arizona's Amy Skieresz, the three-time defending Pac-10 individual champion, returns to defend her title along with the top six finishers from last season's race. Despite the dominance of Skieresz, the Stanford squad will attempt to win their third straight title. The Husky men are set to battle top-ranked and defending champion Stanford. Washington State's Bernard Lagat returns to defend his individual title.
Poll Patter:
The Washington women's cross country team brings a No. 12 national ranking into the conference championships. They will battle five other ranked Pac-10 teams for the title. Women's team favorites include two-time defending champion Stanford, ranked No. 2 nationally, and sixth-ranked Arizona. Following the Huskies in the polls are No. 15 Arizona State, No. 16 Oregon and No. 23 UCLA. The un-ranked Husky men join three of the nation's top-five squads. Top-ranked Stanford, the winner of the last two Pac-10 titles, is followed by No. 3 Oregon and No. 5 Arizona.
Notable:
Both Washington teams have returning competitors from last year's Pac-10 meet. The Husky women have four returnees led by Deeja Youngquist, who was first on the team and 10th overall last year. Anna Aoki placed 12th overall, Margaret Butler placed 21st overall and Kara Syrdal placed 35th. Christian Belz is the top returning Husky male for the second straight season, placing 16th overall in 1996 and 10th last year. David Bazzi was 14th at the 1997 Pac-10 meet, followed by David Schruth at 27th and Geoff Perry at 46th . . . The Washington women's team placed among the top-four at the Pac-10 meet in eight of the last nine years, including a first-place finish in 1989 . . . The Husky men's team placed among the top-three teams five of the last nine years, highlighted by the Pac-10 title in 1993. . . All but one (Christian Belz, Switzerland) of the 14 Washington runners at the Pac-10 championships are from the Northwest.
Huskies at the Pac-10 Meet:
The Washington women won the 1989 Pac-10 meet and finished second in 1990, 1992, 1996 and 1997. The best individual Pac-10 finish by a UW woman was turned in during the 1992 meet by freshman Tara Carlson who finished third. The Washington men won their first Pac-10 crown in 1993, edging Washington State by three points. Simon Baines registered the best conference finish by a Husky individual, placing second in 1993 to WSU's Josephat Kapkory, the eventual national champion. The Washington men placed sixth at last year's Pac-10 meet.
Tentative Washington Lineups for Pacific-10 Conference Championships:
Women (5,000 meters)
Name Yr. Hometown (Previous School) Notes Anna Aoki Jr. Vancouver, Wash. (Fort Vancouver) 1998 Pac-10 10,000m champion, 1997 Indoor All-American Margaret Butler Jr. West Vancouver, B.C. (Sentinel) Canadian Junior record holder in the 5,000 meters (16:45.6) Ashley Foianini Jr. Ephrata, Wash. (Ephrata) 18th at Big Cross meet; 24th in 1997 Sundodger race Jennifer Smith So. Spokane, Wash. (Ferris/Colorado) 2-time NCAA track All-American; 3rd at Wolverine Interregional Kara Syrdal So. Shoreline, Wash. (Shorecrest) 2nd at Cowboy Jamboree; 3rd in 5K & 6th in 3K at 1998 Pac-10s Susan Werner Fr. Boise, Idaho (Boise) 19th at Cowboy Jamboree; 33rd in 1998 Sundodger race Deeja Youngquist Sr. Enumclaw, Wash. (Enumclaw) 1998 NCAA 10,000m track competitor; 5th at Cowboy Jamboree
Men (8,000 meters)
Name Yr. Hometown (Previous School) Notes Dave Bazzi Jr. Seattle, Wash. (O'Dea) 1998 Sundodger runner-up; 5th in 10,000m at 1997 Pac-10s Christian Belz Sr. Bolligen, Switzerland Two-time Pac-10 steeplechase runner-up (1997, 98) James Day Sr. Renton, Wash. (Hazen/Cent. Wash.) 8th in steeplechase at 1998 Pac-10s; 24th at 1998 Sundodger Jason Fayant So. Spokane, Wash. (Mead/Lane CC) 9th at Sundodger, 2nd among Huskies; 21st at Big Cross meet Paul Harkins Jr. Spokane, Wash. (Ferris) 81st at 1997 NCAA regionals; 11th at Big Cross meet # Tom Hildrum Jr. Renton, Wash. (Hazen) 16th in 1998 Sundodger race; 19th at Big Cross meet # Mike Hill RS-Fr. Bellevue, Wash. (Bellevue) 47th at Big Cross in UW debut; 56th at Wolverine Interregional Geoff Perry So. Gig Harbor, Wash. (Gig Harbor) 1998 NCAA track All-American was 10th in 1,500m # Dan Schruth Fr. Spokane, Wash. (Ferris) 34th at Big Cross meet in UW debut; 40th at 1998 Sundodger # Dave Schruth So. Spokane, Wash. (Ferris) 31st in 1998 Sundodger race; 27th at 1997 Pac-10 meet # One of four candidates for the No. 7 spot
Coach Metcalf:
Former Washington All-American Greg Metcalf returned last season to his alma mater to coach the men's and women's cross country teams and assist with the track & field distance runners. He helped the UW women to a 14th-place team finish at the 1997 NCAA cross country meet. On the track, Anna Aoki won the Pac-10 title in the 10,000 meters. She joined three other Husky distance runners at the NCAA track championships; Deeja Youngquist, Danelle Kabush and Geoff Perry. Metcalf served in 1996-97 as the head cross country and assistant track coach at Auburn University. His Tiger athletes accumulated four All-America awards and seven NCAA championship berths. As a competitor at Washington, Metcalf twice earned All-America acclaim for consecutive top-10 national finishes in the steeplechase. He placed 10th at the 1992 NCAA championships and sixth in 1993. Metcalf's collegiate best mark of 8:41.17 ranks fourth among all-time Husky steeplechasers. A 1988 graduate of Ephrata (Wash.) High School, Metcalf was a standout prep runner. He won the 1987 state Class A cross country championship, helping Ephrata to the team title. During the 1988 track season, Metcalf won the state 1,600-meter title. He competed two years at Central Oregon Junior College, garnering All-America honors in both cross country and track. Metcalf received his bachelor's degree in geography from Washington in 1993 and a master's of science in exercise physiology from Auburn in 1996. An outstanding student, he was selected to the All-Pacific-10 Conference academic team on four occasions.
1997 Pac-10 Recap:
Top-ranked Stanford won the men's and women's team titles while 14th-ranked Washington tied No. 4 Oregon for second place in the women's competition Saturday at the Pacific-10 Conference cross country championships on the Stanford Golf Course. Arizona junior Amy Skieresz won her 12th consecutive collegiate race, claiming an unprecedented third straight Pac-10 women's championship with a time of 16:40. Runner-up Marie Davis of Oregon completed the 5,000-meter course in 17:13, the same time as third-place performer Julia Stamps of Stanford. The Cardinal placed four runners among the top-seven women for a winning total of 36 points. The Huskies tied Oregon for second with 72 points, led by the 10th-place effort of junior Deeja Youngquist (17:48).
Washington State finished seventh in the women's competition with 163 points. Washington State's Bernard Lagat posted an eight-second victory in the men's race, leading the 10th-ranked Cougars to a third-place finish. His time of 23:59 bettered the 24:07 of UCLA's Mebrahtom Keflezighi, the defending champion. Nathan Nutter placed third (24:18) and was the first of four top-eight finishers for Stanford which won its second straight men's championship. The Stanford men totaled 33 points to easily outpoint No. 5 Oregon's second-place total of 86. Washington State was third with 88 points and the 18th-ranked Huskies finished sixth with 116. Junior Christian Belz was the top Husky men's finisher, covering the 8,000-meter course in 24:47 to finish 10th.
Upcoming Schedule:
Saturday, Nov. 14 - UW X-Country at NCAA West Regionals
Fresno, Calif.
Monday, Nov. 23 - UW X-Country at NCAA Championships
Lawrence, Kansas
