Nov. 13, 2004
FRESNO, Calif. - Junior Christal Cuadra (Mary Knoll HS/Honolulu, Hawai'i) took 55th out of 199 runners to lead the San Diego State women's cross country team at the NCAA West Regional Meet in Fresno, Calif. on Saturday afternoon. The Aztecs had only four competitors compete and finished incomplete as a team. No. 1 Stanford won the meet with 29 points, followed by seventh-ranked Arizona State (45) and No. 17 UC Santa Barbara (92).
"I was pleased with the effort of our team," assistant coach Jennifer Nanista said. "Injuries really took its toll on us this season."
Cuadra, a second-team all-Mountain West Conference performer, ran a 22-second personal-best 6K time of 22:00. Her 55th-place finish was a 15-spot improvement from the previous season.
"Christal ran great," added Nanista. "She went out hard and stayed in good position throughout the race. She gained a lot of confidence and now knows she can run with the best."
Sophomore Christian Fairing, who ran a career-best time of 23:29, followed Cuadra with a 138th-place finish. Sophomores Sara Cates (168th, 24:09) and Ali Baker (179th, 24:38) were the other finishers for SDSU.
2004 NCAA West Regional Championships
Fresno, Calif. - Woodward Park - 6K
1. No. 1 Stanford - 29
2. No. 7 Arizona State - 45
3. No. 17 UC Santa Barbara - 92
Inc. San Diego State
Women's Individual Results (SDSU only)
55. Christal Cuadra - 22:00
138. Christian Fairing - 23:29
168. Sara Cates - 24:09
179. Ali Baker - 24:38