Jan. 14, 2005
SAN DIEGO - Despite returning only four letterwinners and losing 2003 all-regional and all-Mountain West Conference first-team selection Marie Nilsson, who completed her cross country eligibility in 2003, the San Diego State women's cross country team put together another fine season in 2004.
The Aztecs slipped only one team place in the MWC championship meet from the season before, finishing in the top eight in four of their seven scoring races.
The squad took second in consecutive races, including a solid effort at the UNLV Invitational as three runners finished in the top eight. SDSU also came within 13 team places from winning its second title in four seasons at the same meet.
In her third season on The Mesa, junior Christal Cuadra culminated a breakout season in which she was the top Aztec finisher in every race with a 55th-place finish, a 15-spot improvement from the previous season, and personal best time of 22:00 at the NCAA west regional meet. The 6K time was the fifth-fastest on the SDSU all-time list.
At the 2004 MWC Championships, Cuadra earned a spot on the all-MWC second team courtesy of her 14th-place finish, becoming only the second Aztec to earn all-MWC honors.
Cuadra was not the only one to see such an improvement in one short year. Sophomore Celeste Tyson logged a personal best and team season best 5K time of 19:31 at the Fresno Invitational. Tyson finished in the top-5 on the team five times, including second on the team and seventh overall at the UNLV Invitational.
Sophomore Christian Fairing saved her best performance for the final race, logging the team's second fastest 6K time of the season at the NCAA regional meet with a 23:29 clocking.
Freshman Brookie Detterman was a pleasant surprise, finishing in the top-3 on the team in five of seven races in her first season, while junior Jackie Duncan knocked almost a minute off her previous best 5K time at the Fullerton Opener, completing the course in 19:49.70.
SDSU also got notable contributions from its lone senior, Emily Joller, and junior Ali Baker as each had Aztec career best times in both the 5k and 6K distances.
Redshirt freshman Christian Fairing also logged a career-high 11th place at the LBSU Invitational and was the Aztecs' No. 5 runner in the final two races of 2003.