Oct. 1, 2005
SAN DIEGO - Aztec sophomore Lital Azulay (Holon, Israel) placed third out of 138 runners in 17 minutes, 10 seconds to lead the San Diego State women's cross country team to a fifth-place finish Saturday at the 31st Annual Willamette Invitational at Bush Park in Salem, Ore. The University of Washington won the 15-team women's university division with 55 points, followed by Oregon (58 pts.), Iowa (112 pts.), UC Irvine (115 pts.) and SDSU (120 pts.). For the Aztecs, it was their fourth straight top-five team finish.
"Overall, I was very pleased with our performance," SDSU coach Jennifer Nanista said. "Every single runner set a personal best today. We're a little tired right now, having run three weekends in row, but this certainly does a lot for our confidence."
Lital Azulay turned in another strong performance, coming in just nine seconds behind the leader, Dee Olson of Idaho, who finished the 5K race in 17:01. Azulay's 17:10 clocking was also the ninth-fastest 5K time in school history.
SDSU placed three other runners in the top 30, including junior Lisa Crampton (12th place - 17:32), senior Christal Cuadra (23rd - 17:54) and sophomore Lisa Naucler (30th - 18:09).
Also completing the course for the Aztecs were juniors Sarah Belger (53rd - 18:32), Celeste Tyson (64th - 18:43) and Sara Cates (78th - 19:02).
In other women's cross country action on Saturday, three SDSU runners competed in the collegiate open division of the UC Riverside Invitational. Junior transfer Dora Sanders placed 37th of 131 runners with a time of 19:57. Also running for the Aztecs were freshman Amanda Maydeck (57th - 20:47) and sophomore Anne Vieira (68th - 20:59). Senior Jackie Duncan, who ran unattached, made her first appearance in 2005, crossing the finish line in 19:29 to place 23rd overall.
The SDSU `A' team will have two weeks off before traveling to Sunnyvale, Calif. to compete in the Santa Clara Invitational on Oct. 15. Meanwhile, the Aztecs' `B' squad heads across town next Saturday for the UCSD Triton Classic on Oct. 8, set to begin at 8:30 a.m. at the UCSD cross country course.
Willamette Invitational - Salem, Ore. - 5K Results:
(Women's University Division - Top 5)
1. Washington (55 pts)
2. Oregon (58 pts)
3. Iowa (112 pts)
4. UC Irvine (115 pts)
5. San Diego State (120 pts)
Individual Results (SDSU only):
3. Lital Azulay (17:10)
12. Lisa Crampton (17:32)
23. Christal Cuadra (17:54)
30. Lisa Naucler (18:09)
53. Sarah Belger (18:32)
64. Celeste Tyson (18:43)
78. Sara Cates (19:02)
UC Riverside Invitational - Riverside, Calif. - 5K Results:
(Women's Collegiate Open Division - Top 5)
1. Cal Coast TC (31 points)
2. Long Beach State (35 points)
3. UC Irvine (119 pts)
4. Pomona-Pitzer (136 points)
5. CS Fullerton (138 points)
SDSU - No team score
Individual Results (SDSU only): 37. Dora Sanders (19:57), 57. Amanda Maydeck (20:47), 68. Anne Vieira (20:59)