Sept. 12, 2007
SAN DIEGO -
San Diego State Cross Country Weekly Release in PDF Format
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SDSU Cross Country to Play Host to 63rd Annual Aztec Invitational
After nearly two weeks off, the San Diego State cross country squad returns to action as it plays host to the 63rd annual Aztec Invitational Saturday morning, Sept. 15, at historic Balboa Park. The day will begin at 7:30 a.m. with the 5K People's Race and will be followed by the Women's Open (5K) at 8:15 a.m. and the Women's Invitational at 9 a.m. After the women compete, the men will gather at the starting line for a pair of 8K races - the 9:30 a.m. Men's Open and the 10:15 a.m. Men's Invitational - to conclude the morning.
Schools highlighting the women's side are No. 4 Arkansas, UC Santa Barbara (No. 5 - West Region), Loyola Marymount (No. 15 - West), Northern Arizona (No. 8 - Mountain) and Southern Utah (No. 12 - Mountain).
General information on the race can be found on the SDSU cross country page on goaztecs.com. Complete results will also be posted on the official athletic site of San Diego State at the conclusion of the race.
Aztec Invitational History
* Invite Tidbits: The meet first began with a men's race on December 18, 1943 ... A women's division was introduced 34 years later in 1977 ... For the first time in its history, the Aztec Invitational was cancelled in 2001 due to the events of September 11, and was not rescheduled ... Former San Diego prep and UCLA standout Mebrahtom Keflezighi owns the men's meet record with an 8K time of 24:37 (1995), while Arizona's Joan Hansen ran the fastest women's 5K race in 16:47 (1981).
* A year ago, SDSU finished fifth out of 12 teams with 139 points ... Senior team captain Celeste Tyson led the squad with a time of 18:58, finishing 20th out of 97 runners ... This season's captain Lisa Naucler crossed the finish line in 19:49 to come in 36th place.
* Arkansas won the 2006 invitational division for the fifth time, breaking Arizona's record of four titles, after earning 20 points. The Razorbacks were followed by Long Beach State (60 pts.). Loyola Marymount's Laura Mickelson won the individual title with a time of 17:19.
2006 Aztec Invitational Results (Invitational Division)
FINAL TEAM RESULTS (Top 5): 1. Arkansas, 20; 2. Long Beach State, 80; 3. Loyola Marymount, 80; 4. CS Fullerton `A', 129; 5. San Diego State, 139.
AZTEC INDIVIDUAL RESULTS (2007 Returnees Only):
INVITATIONAL: 36. Lisa Naucler, 19:49; 62. Stephanie Armstrong, 20:30; 70. Makenzie Mabry, 20:37; 74. Lindsay Barajas, 20:47. OPEN: 46. Darien Buc, 21:16; 74. Anne Vieira, 22.15.
A Look Back at Meet No. 1: Fullerton Season Opener
San Diego State opened its season with a seventh-place finish at the Fullerton Season Opener at Carbon Canyon Regional Park on Sept. 1, in Brea, Calif. The Aztecs completed the race with 176 points and recorded a top 10 finish at the meet for the eighth time in the past nine seasons.
SDSU was led by Lisa Naucler, who finished in 25th place with a time of 19 minutes, 13.80 seconds. Her effort at Carbon Canyon was nearly 49 seconds better than her performance a year ago when she came in 58th place after finishing the race in 20:02.50.
Junior Kristin Glen logged the Aztecs' second-best time as she crossed the finish line in 19:16.60 to come in 27th place.
Rounding out SDSU's top seven was Alyssa Robinson (47th, 19:58.40), Stephanie Armstrong (51st, 20:04.90), Anne Vieira (65th, 20:32.50), Sara Beyers (68th, 20:34.40) and Darien Buc (85th, 21:01.40).
Other Aztecs to finish inside the top 100, include Michelle Martinez (89th, 21:04.90), Sara Cunningham (90th, 21:05.50), Makenzie Mabry (95th, 21:12.40) and Elizabeth Leonard (98th, 21:17.00).
Starting Strong
San Diego State's top runner at the Fullerton Season Opener, Lisa Naucler, had more than just finishing first among all Aztecs (25th overall) to brag about. The senior posted a result nearly 49 seconds better than in 2006, had her best individual finish dating back to Oct. 15, 2005 at the Santa Clara Invitational when she placed seventh, and recorded her second-best time (19:13.80) dating back to last year. Meanwhile, junior Anne Vieira had a strong performance as she registered an Aztec career best with a time of 20:32.50. Her 65th-place showing was also a personal best for the San Diego native. Junior college transfers Kristin Glen and Alyssa Robinson also had nice debuts as they finished with the second- and third-fastest times on the squad.
Schedule Alert
The Aztecs made a slight change to their 2007 schedule early last week. Rather than compete in the Titan Invitational on Friday, Oct. 19, in Fullerton, Calif., SDSU will instead stay in San Diego County and run in the Cougar 5K Challenge in San Marcos the following day, Saturday, Oct. 20. The meet, hosted by CS San Marcos, is slated for a 7:30 a.m. PT start.