Nov. 12, 2005
PALO ALTO, Calif. - The San Diego State women's cross country team turned in another strong performance on Saturday as five Aztec runners recorded career-best times at the 2005 NCAA West Regional championships at Stanford Golf Course in Palo Alto, Calif. SDSU posted its best-ever finish at a regional meet, placing seventh out of 30 schools with 290 points. Second-ranked Stanford won the 6,000-meter race with 24 points, while No. 5 Arizona State (48 pts.) and No. 26 Washington (117 pts.) took second and third, respectively.
"We had a tremendous season," SDSU coach Jennifer Nanista said. "We never once backed off during any meet this year. Today we had five runners finish with personal records and you can't ask them for anything more. We went up against some tough competition and we know that we can now run with some of the best teams in the country."
Leading the Aztecs' charge once again was sophomore Lital Azulay (Holon, Israel) who crossed the finish line at 21:05.8, which was the second-fastest 6K time by an SDSU runner in school history. Azulay finished 21st in a field of 199 runners and just missed Marie Nilsson's school-record mark of 21:04 set at the 2003 NCAA regional meet.
Azulay was followed by junior Lisa Crampton, who placed 39th at 21:32.3, which now ranks as the fourth-fastest mark in school history. Senior Christal Cuadra made her final collegiate appearance a memorable one, placing 60th with a career-best effort of 21:50.9, the sixth-fastest time in SDSU history. Junior Celeste Tyson (79th - 22:20.6) and sophomore Lisa Naucler (99th -22:42.2) also logged career-bests for the Aztecs.
Juniors Sarah Belger (115th - 22:56.0) and Sara Cates (137th - 23:18.5) rounded out the SDSU contingent.
Stanford's Arianna Lambie claimed the individual title with a winning effort of 19:29.3, easily outdistancing defending regional champion Amy Hastings of Arizona State (19:58.4). Stanford and Arizona State secured the two automatic bids to the NCAA championships, slated for Nov. 21, in Terre Haute, Ind.
NCAA West Regional - Palo Alto, Calif. - Stanford Golf Course
Women's 6K Results (Top 10 ): 1. Stanford (24 pts.); 2. Arizona State (48 pts.); 3. Washington (117 pts.); 4. Oregon (139 pts.); 5. UCLA (196 pts.); 6. Portland (228 pts.); 7. San Diego State (290 pts.); 8. Washington State (299 pts.); 9. UC Irvine (310 pts.); 10. Long Beach State (311 pts.)
Individual Results (SDSU only): 21. Lital Azulay (21:05.8); 39. Lisa Crampton (21:32.3); 60. Christal Cuadra (21:50.9); 79. Celeste Tyson (22:20.6); 99. Lisa Naucler (22:42.2); 115. Sarah Belger (22:56.0); 137. Sara Cates (23:18.5)