Nov. 5, 2002
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Conference Championships
- Battling cold weather and high altitude, the San Diego State women's cross country team finished seventh overall in the Mountain West Conference Championships Friday in Provo, Utah.
- For the sixth time this season, senior Jennifer Stakiw led SDSU with a 22nd-place finish overall and a time of 22:36.8. Following close behind Stakiw was fellow senior Alicia Stewart, who finished 32nd with a time of 23:19.6. Stakiw and Stewart have teamed up three times this season to pace the Aztecs. "They ran tough," said assistant coach Jennifer Nanista. "They went out and did a good job. The altitude just caught up with us today."
- According to Nanista, the middle of the field could have gone to any squad. SDSU was nine points out of fifth place and just three points out of sixth. The Aztecs finished ahead of UNLV by 14 points.
- Defending NCAA champion and three-time conference champion BYU won the meet again this year. No. 29 Colorado State came in second. BYU freshman Kassi Andersen took the individual title, as well as the freshman of the year title.
- The Aztecs finished seventh in last year's championship as well.
A Stellar Season For Stakiw
- Senior Jennifer Stakiw has led the squad in each of the six races she has appeared in this season. In those six races, she has finished in the top-25 every time. Stakiw has also set personal records in both the 5K and the 6K. Her current 5K personal best stands at 18:13 and was set in the Long Beach meet on Oct. 19. Her impressive 21:50 finish in the 6K course at Stanford was good enough for not only a personal best, but one of the top times in the conference standings.
- Stakiw did not compete at the UCSD Invitational because of a reoccurring back injury. Her showing at Long Beach, however, proved Stakiw can handle anything and is ready for regionals. She led the Aztecs to a third-place finish, marking the second time this season the squad has placed in the top three.
- The Long Beach meet also marked Stakiw's highest finish of the season. The fifth-place finish was her first finish in the top-10 this season.
- Last but certainly not least, Stakiw received MWC honors for the week on Sept. 24. She finished 11th out of 111 runners at the Hawai'i Invitational on Sept. 21. She posted a time of 19:37.90 and led the Aztecs to a fourth-place finish.
Looking Ahead To Regionals
- The Aztecs have a week off before heading to the NCAA Regional meet on Nov. 16. Regionals will be held in Palo Alto, Calif., at Stanford University.
- SDSU has competed on the regional course already this season at the Stanford Invitational. The Aztecs posted a top-10 finish there and hope to have the same success during regionals.
- Last year at regionals, the Aztecs competed with only four runners and did not place in the team standings.
- Individually, Stakiw led the pack with a time of 23:35.3 and Stewart finished in 24:52.7.