Nov. 15, 2003
SAN DIEGO - The San Diego State cross country squad, behind senior Marie Nilsson's (Kil, Sweden) 22nd-place finish, came in 15th overall Saturday afternoon at the 6K NCAA West Regional meet in Troutdale, Ore. The Aztecs' 15th place is a three spot improvement from last season's meet, while it is the team's best performance in more than five years.
"I'm really pleased with how everyone ran," SDSU coach Jennifer Nanista said. "You can't come out with six pr's (personal records) and think you had a bad meet."
Nilsson, in her first season on The Mesa after transferring from Oklahoma State, ran her third-fastest time ever, tallying a school record of 21:04. Nilsson easily beat the previous 6K record of 21:50 held by Jennifer Stakiw (2002) and now owns four of the top six times in the Aztec record books.
Nilsson was helped by senior Kylie Edwards (Mt. Dundeed, Australia), who finished out her career by coming in 55th with a personal best of 22:09, the fifth-fastest time in SDSU history. Sophomore Christal Cuadra (Honolulu, Hawai'i) was the team's No. 3 finisher with a 70th place in a personal best effort of 22:25 (8th in SDSU history).
Freshman and Carlsbad, Calif., native Sara Cates (135th - 23:24), redshirt freshman Christian Fairing (143rd - 23:31) and juniors Tina Fodor (162nd - 24:06) and Allison Brown (181st - 24:23) rounded out the Aztec finishers.
Top-ranked Stanford won the meet, while UCLA placed second to secure the two automatic bids to the NCAA championships, slated for Nov. 24, in Cedar Falls, Iowa.
2003 NCAA West Regional Championships
Troutdale, Ore. - Blue Lake Park- 6K
Team Results
1. No. 1 Stanford
2. UCLA
3. Washington
15. SDSU
Women's Individual Results (SDSU only)
22. Marie Nilsson21:04 (SDSU school record) 55. Kylie Edwards 22:09 70. Christal Cuadra 22:25 135. Sara Cates 23:24 143. Christian Fairing 23:31 162. Tina Fodor 24:06 181. Allison Brown 24:23
SDSU At the NCAA West Regional Meet
Year Team Finish Top Aztec Finisher (Time) 2003 15th (TBA pts.) 22. Marie Nilsson(21:04.00) 2002 18th (478 pts.) 71. Jamillah Titus (23:31.00) 2001 NTS 61. Jennifer Stakiw (23:35.30) 2000 16th (492 pts.) 75. Kylie Edwards (22:34.00) 1999 18th (435 pts.) 24. Sophia Hawker (17:57.00)^ ^ = 5K race (others 6K)