Oct. 16, 2007
SAN DIEGO -
San Diego State Cross Country Weekly Release in PDF Format
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SDSU Cross Country Closes Regular Season at Cougar 5K Challenge
San Diego State will close out its regular-season slate at the Cougar 5K Challenge in San Marcos, Calif., on Saturday, Oct. 20, at 7:30 a.m. PT. The meet will feature the Aztec `B' team in one last race before SDSU plays host to the Mountain West Conference Championships at Mission Bay on Oct. 27.
Last weekend, SDSU competed at the Bronco Invitational in Sunnyvale, Calif., and were led Lisa Naucler for a fifth straight meet, three Aztecs who established new personal records and two others who posted Aztec personal bests. The 5,000-meter race featured some of the best individual performances of the season in one of the most crucial portions of the season with the postseason right around the corner.
After this weekend's meet, SDSU will play host to its second meet of the season in San Diego, the MWC Championships at Mission Bay. The Oct. 27 meet will get underway at 10 a.m. PT with the men's 8K and will be followed by the women's 6K at 11 a.m.
Raising the Bar
Stephanie Armstrong, Darien Buc and Anne Vieira all finished the Bronco Invitational by establishing new personal records. Armstrong broke her previous best of 19:03.01 accomplished during her freshman season by clocking in at 18:45.00. Meanwhile, Buc and Vieira erased their old PRs set at the Aztec Invitational earlier this year by crossing the finish in line in 19:12.00 and 19:15.00, respectively. Buc's performance was 50 seconds faster than her 20:02.00 effort and Vieira completely shattered her old time of 20:32.00 by 1:17.
Don't Forget Us
In addition to the three who set new personal marks, juniors Kristin Glen and Alyssa Robinson recorded Aztec career bests with their effort in Northern California. Glen just barely beat out her old SDSU best as she completed the course in 19:16.00. Prior to the meet, the junior college transfer's top time was 19:16.60 at the Fullerton Season Opener to start the year. Robinson, meanwhile, crossed the finish line 12 seconds later, clocking in at 19:28.00, 30.40 seconds faster than her performance at Fullerton.
Three for Three
The trio of Stephanie Armstrong, Darien Buc and Anne Vieira made it three for three in setting new PRs when they posted personal records at the 5K Bronco Invitational. All three of them set lifetime bests in the 4K, 5K and 6K this season, becoming the only Aztecs to accomplish the feat in 2007.
First Time Out
Freshman Michelle Martinez made her debut with the San Diego State `A' squad at the Bronco Invitational last weekend. The Burbank, Calif., native earned the promotion with the first team after a strong performance the week before at the Triton Classic. Martinez delivered a time of 24:49.30 on UC San Diego's 6K course to receive the call up and followed it with a Bronco Invite time of 20:14.00.
Moving in the Right Direction
Despite finishing in 13th place at the Bronco Invitational, San Diego State's runners are definitely moving in the right direction with the conference meet rapidly approaching. The race produced the top two 5K times of the season thanks to Lisa Naucler and Stephanie Armstrong and five of the top eight overall, after solid efforts by Darien Buc, Anne Vieira and Kristin Glen. Even more impressive, considering the MWC meet is a 6K, is the fact that SDSU's top-two 6K times are better than 2006's fastest mark. In addition, this season's top-five 6K times are faster than the three fastest times from last year.
Closing in on Tyson
After turning in San Diego State's fastest time in all five `A'-squad meets this season, Lisa Naucler has a shot at tying former teammate Celeste Tyson's mark from a year ago. Last season, Tyson ended her collegiate career at SDSU by finishing first among all Aztecs in the final six races of the year. With the MWC Championships set for the following weekend and the NCAA West Regionals scheduled for Nov. 10, Naucler can match and surpass her former teammate's achievement before closing out her own career on Montezuma Mesa.