Oct. 9, 2006
SAN DIEGO -
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Aztecs Look to Defend Santa Clara Invitational Title This Weekend
San Diego State cross country, which finished first at the Santa Clara Invitational last year, will look to defend its crown Saturday, Oct. 14, at Baylands Regional Park in Sunnyvale, Calif. The 5K meet is scheduled to start at 10:15 a.m. PT on a course that consists of short-cut grass and hard-packed dirt paths.
Getting Back to Work
After taking a week off, the San Diego State `A' team will be back in action looking to repeat as Santa Clara Invite champions. If history repeats itself, the Aztecs will be in good position to finish atop the leaderboard. In 2005, SDSU finished fifth at the Willamette Invitational, took a week off and bounced back to win at Santa Clara. This season, the Aztecs placed seventh at the Willamette Invite and will look to do what they did last year. Individually this season, the race following a bye has produced great results. Earlier this year after a bye week, five SDSU runners established Aztec personal bests, while four others set season bests at the Aztec Invitational.
Azulay Looking to Repeat
In addition to SDSU looking to repeat as team champions, Lital Azulay will be trying to defend her individual title. In 2005, the Holon, Israel, native finished first of 79 competitors with a 5K personal-best time of 17:03.10. Her performance was also the fifth-best effort in San Diego State history and earned her Mountain West Conference Athlete of the Week honors for the second time last season.
Entering the Top 10
Three freshmen, Jessica Walker (4th), Makenzie Mabry (6th) and Lindsay Barajas (7th), were new entrants on the 2006 6K top-10 list this past weekend with their efforts at the UCSD Triton Classic. Lital Azulay also performed well enough to have her time rank as the fifth best of the season. She owns the eighth-fastest time as well. Currently four freshmen and five newcomers hold a spot on the 6K list.
Taking It Back to 2005: The Santa Clara Invitational
Backed by the duo of Lital Azulay and Lisa Crampton, San Diego State captured its first team title in two years at the Santa Clara Invitational. 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.
Azulay won the individual title, while Lisa Crampton finished second overall, coming in with a 17:34 clocking.
SDSU placed three other runners in the top 12, including Lisa Naucler (seventh - 18:02), Christal Cuadra (ninth - 18:05) and Sarah Belger (12th - 18:11). Also completing a successful day for the Aztecs were Celeste Tyson (18th - 18:28) and Sara Cates (27th - 18:51).
A Look Back at Week No. 5: UCSD Triton Classic
The San Diego State `B' team registered a 10th-place finish at the 17-team UCSD Triton Classic Oct. 7. Jessica Walker led a group of seven Aztecs in the 6K meet with a time of 25.11.90.
For six of the seven SDSU runners, the race was their first of the season on a 6,000-meter course. The lone Aztec to have competed in a 6K this season was Lital Azulay, who turned in a season-best time of 25:16.30, to finish 53rd of 151 competitors.
Following Azulay were Makenzie Mabry and Lindsay Barajas. Mabry ended with a time of 25:26.00 (57th place), while Barajas completed the course in 25:29.40 (58th).
Darien Buc placed 93rd as she finished with a time of 26:34.10, while Anne Vieira (26:45.80 - 98th) and Amanda Maydeck (27:03.10 - 105th) rounded out the Aztec entry in the meet.
Tyson Setting the Tone
In her first race of the season, the Fullerton Season Opener, Celeste Tyson ran the Aztecs' second-fastest time at 19:18.40. Since then, the senior captain has improved on her 5K time each week and has crossed the finish line first for SDSU.
In the team's next race, the Aztec Invitational, Tyson shaved nearly 20 seconds off her previous time, finishing in 20th place with a time of 18:58.00. At the Willamette Invitational, she came in ninth, setting a personal best, turning in the fastest time of 2006 and the second fastest inthe MWC heading into the race, with her 17:54.95 clocking.
At the Roy Griak Invitational, Tyson was the Aztecs' top runner with a 6K-time of 23:49.00.