The San Diego State women's cross country squad of 2002 gave the running world a taste of what success could lie ahead for the Aztec program. In all, the squad finished in the top-10 in four competitions, 3rd at the Aztec Invitational behind two ranked squads, 9th at the highly competitive Stanford Invitational, and 18th overall at the NCAA West Regional meet. Coaches Rahn Sheffield and Jennifer Nanista looked to their top five runners, three seniors and two freshmen, to begin the rebuilding of the SDSU cross country legacy. Their choices appeared to work.
Captain Jennifer Stakiw showed her ability and maturity by leading the Aztecs and finishing in the top-25 in six out of the seven races she appeared in. Her impressive 21:50 finish in the 6K at the Stanford Invitational was good enough for not only a personal best, but one of the top times in the Mountain West Conference standings as well. She set a personal best at the Long Beach 5K (18:13) and received MWC runner-of-the-week honors for her 11th-place finish at the Hawai'i Invitational.
Seniors Alicia Stewart and Kylie Edwards also made strides for the Aztecs. Stewart had four top-25 finishes and set a personal best in the 5K at the Long Beach Invitational (18:37). Edwards, who sat out the 2001 season due to injury, came back to help lift the squad with four top-50 finishes.
True freshmen Jamillah Titus and Christal Cuadra showed glimpses of the future of the Aztec cross country program. Titus' stepped up to lead the Aztecs at the NCAA West Regionals and was the No. 3 finisher for the squad in five other races. Cuadra, the 2001 Hawai'i state cross country champion, finished in the No. 2 spot for the Aztecs in four out of the seven races she competed in.