Sept. 29, 2003
SAN DIEGO -
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Cross Country Returns Home For Pre-MWC Championship Meet
* The San Diego State women's cross country team heads back home for its second of three meets in San Diego this season. The Aztecs play host to the pre-Mountain West Conference championship meet Saturday at Morley Field.
* There will be two races on Saturday, beginning at 9 a.m. with the men's 8K and followed an hour later at 10 a.m. with the women's 6K. The Aztecs will be running a 6K for the second time this season.
* This week's meet allows teams to get used to the course which they will also run Nov. 1, when SDSU plays host to the conference championship. This is the first time the Aztecs have run on the Morley Field course in over a decade.
* All but two of the conference schools will send teams to this weekend's meet. On the women's side, SDSU will be joined by No. 1 Brigham Young, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming. The men's race boasts squads from New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming.
* SDSU will be without many of the team's top runners this week, who will take the meet off to rest.
The probable Aztec line-up includes: Julie Amster, Ali Baker, Brianne Bricker, Sara Cates, Jackie Duncan, Angie Fitzpatrick, Emily Joller, Katie Parry and Marilyn Smith.
* In the first regular-season women's national poll released Sept. 22, two Mountain West Conference schools are currently ranked in the top 25, including No. 1 BYU and No. 25 Colorado State.
Rewind- Stanford 2003
* The San Diego State women's cross country team finished 12th out of 26 teams Saturday at the prestigious 30th annual Stanford Invitational in Palo Alto, Calif. The Aztecs, racing their first 6K distance of the season, ended up with 314 team points at a meet won by 24th-ranked UCLA, which upset No. 2 Stanford for the title.
"I thought the team ran well, but we still have some more work to do," SDSU coach Jennifer Nanista said. "We beat one conference team (UNLV) and were close to another (Utah). We had a couple of people run personal bests, but running the 6K course will take a little while to get used to racing."
Senior Marie Nilsson was the first SDSU runner to cross the finish line for the third straight meet, coming in 13th out of 187 runners with a time of 21:53. Nilsson's time ranks second in school history, behind Jennifer Stakiw's school record of 21:50 at the same meet a year ago.
Behind Nilsson was sophomore Christal Cuadra, who has firmly established herself as the team's No. 2 runner, placing 36th overall in a career best 6K time of 22:32.
A year ago, SDSU was ninth in a 33-team field, its best finish ever at the annual event.
* Final Team Results (Top 5 + SDSU) - 1. UCLA (37 pts.), 2. Stanford (56 pts.), 3. Wisconsin (88 pts.), 4. Arkansas (101 pts.), 5. Nevada (219 pts.), 12. San Diego State (314 pts).
* Aztec Individual Results - 13. Maria Nilsson (21:53), 36. Christal Cuadra (22:32), 87. Allison Brown (23:39), 97. Kylie Edwards (23:51), 105. Christian Fairing (24:01), 113. Celeste Tyson (24:13), 120. Tina Fodor (24:25), 136. Emily Wynne (24:43), 152. Jamillah Titus (25:24).
Upcoming Schedule
* The Aztecs will stay in San Diego for the second straight week when they travel across town for the UCSD Triton Classic in La Jolla, Calif. Last season, SDSU placed sixth among 11 NCAA Division I schools.
Nilsson Leads The Pack
* With just three meets as an Aztec under her belt, senior Marie Nilsson has already distinguished herself as one of the team's top runners.
Nilsson was the first SDSU runner to cross the finish line at the Stanford Invitational, the Hawai'i meet and the Aztec Invitational. She was also named the Mountain West Cross Country Athlete of the Week on Sept. 16, for her performance at the Aztec Invite.
Nilsson has finished in the top seven twice and boasts the squad's fastest 5K (18:23.00) and 6K (21:53.00) times in 2003.