Oct. 15, 2005
SUNNYVALE, Calif. - Backed by the duo of sophomore Lital Azulay (Holon, Israel) and junior Lisa Crampton (Livermore, Calif.), the San Diego State women's cross country team captured its first team title in two years Saturday at the Santa Clara Invitational at Baylands Regional Park in Sunnyvale, Calif. SDSU won the eight-team women's division with 31 points, placing five runners in the top 12 en route to its first meet victory since the 2003 Long Beach State Invitational.
"I'm very happy with everyone's performance," Aztec coach Jennifer Nanista said. "We got out to a great start during the first mile, and for the first time this season, we were able to really close the gaps between our fourth and fifth runners. This gives us tremendous confidence heading into the conference and regional meets."
Lital Azulay won the individual title out of a field of 79 runners, completing the 5,000-meter course in a time of 17 minutes, three seconds, which was her career-best and also the fifth-fastest 5K time in school history. Lisa Crampton finished second overall behind Azulay, coming in with a 17:34 clocking.
SDSU placed three other runners in the top 12, including sophomore Lisa Naucler (seventh - 18:02), senior Christal Cuadra (ninth - 18:05) and junior Sarah Belger (12th - 18:11). Also completing a successful day for the Aztecs were juniors Celeste Tyson (18th - 18:28) and Sara Cates (27th - 18:51).
SDSU takes a week off to rest for the Mountain West Conference championships, set for Oct. 29 in Fort Collins, Colo., at Collindale Golf Course. The day starts with the men's 8K race at 9 a.m., followed an hour later by the women's 6K championship at 10 a.m.
Santa Clara Invitational - Sunnyvale, Calif.
(Women's 5K Results - Top 5): 1. San Diego State (31 pts); 2. Cal State Fullerton (54 pts); 3. UC Davis (70 pts); 4. San Jose State (87 pts); 5. Santa Clara (109 pts).
Individual Results (SDSU only): 1. Lital Azulay (17:03.10); 2. Lisa Crampton (17:34.23); 7. Lisa Naucler (18:02.19); 9. Christal Cuadra (18:05.73); 12. Sarah Belger (18:11.79); 18. Celeste Tyson (18:28.33); 27. Sara Cates (18:51.87).