Oct. 24, 2007
SAN DIEGO -
San Diego State Cross Country Weekly Release in PDF Format
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Aztecs Leave For Albuquerque for MWC Cross Country Championships
San Diego State, which was to play host to the Mountain West Conference Men's and Women's Cross Country Championships this Saturday, Oct. 27 at Mission Bay, will now instead travel to Albuquerque, N.M., for the league meet due to the recent wildfires in San Diego County.
The championships will still be held this Saturday and will take place at the UNM North Golf Course. The men's 8K is slated for a 10 a.m. MT start, with the women's 6K to follow at 11 a.m. MT.
Last weekend, the Aztecs ran in the Cougar 5K Challenge and were led by Lindsay Barajas, who was named MWC athlete of the week on Tuesday. The sophomore from Rancho Cucamonga, Calif., ran a personal-record 19:08.00 to finish in 15th place, her best-ever individual finish. Junior Kristin Glen also had a solid performance as she established an Aztec career best for the second straight week with a time of 19:13.00.
Following the championships, SDSU will return to action Nov. 10, when it competes at the NCAA West Region Championships in Eugene, Ore.
MWC Championships History
This weekend, the Aztecs will be looking to break a disturbing trend. In eight runnings of the MWC cross country championships, the Aztecs have never finished higher than fifth. Throughout the years, SDSU has registered three seventh-place performances (2001, 2002, 2004), finished sixth in 2003, has three fifth-place efforts (1999, 2000, 2005) and came in eighth in 2006.
Former Aztecs Lital Azulay and Marie Nilsson are the only runners to earn all-MWC first-team honors and are the only ones to finish in the top 10. In 2005, Azulay finished fifth with a time of 21:14.20, while Nilsson came in fourth (21:53.00) in 2003. Two years ago, Christal Cuadra walked away with second team honors with a 14th-place performance (23:03.00).
Below is a year-by-year look at SDSU at the MWC Championships:
Year Team Finish Top Aztec Finisher (Time) 2006 8th (203 pts.) 30. Celeste Tyson (22:57.00) 2005 5th (134 pts.) 5. Lital Azulay (21:14.20)* 2004 7th (192 pts.) 14. Christal Cuadra (23:03.00)# 2003 6th (143 pts.) 4. Marie Nilsson (21:53.00)* 2002 7th (176 pts.) 22. Jennifer Stakiw (22:36.80) 2001 7th (177 pts.) 32. Alicia Stewart (23:24.00) 2000 5th (166 pts.) 31. Kylie Edwards (23:10.20) 1999 5th (146 pts.) 16. Sophia Hawker (18:36.10)^ * - All-MWC first team, # - All-MWC second team, ^ - 5K race (all others 6K)
Sound Familiar?
Saturday would have marked the second time in the nine-year history of the MWC, that SDSU would have played host to the championships. Similar to this year, wildfires in San Diego County forced the championships to relocate back in 2003. That year, Morley Field was to be the site for the league meet, but wildfires and poor air quality forced the conference to move it to New Mexico.
Looking for More of the Same
The Aztecs have had two bye weeks in 2007 and the results following the week off have been great. After its first bye, which came after the season-opening meet in Fullerton, five of the eight regular `A'-team runners logged a time that was faster than their last time out. Following its week off three weeks ago, seven of the eight posted their best time of the season at the Bronco Invite. And with most not competing in the Cougar 5K Challenge, the Aztecs are hoping to continue the trend this weekend at the MWC Championships.
Making a Lasting Impression
Sophomore Lindsay Barajas made an exceptional lasting impression at the Cougar 5K Challenge over the weekend as she ran a personal-record time of 19:08.00 in placing 15th. Her individual finish was the best of her Aztec career and her time was more than 32 seconds faster than her previous PR of 19:40.50, set at the UC Riverside Invitational back on Sept. 29.
Glen Going
For the second straight week, Kristin Glen has been on the move. After running 19:16.60 in the first 5K of the season at the Fullerton Season Opener, Glen suffered a setback at the Aztec Invitational, completing the 5,000-meter course in 19:53.00. However, in her last two 5K races, the Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif., native has put together back-to-back Aztec personal-best efforts. After posting a time of 19:16.00 at the Bronco Invite, Glen eclipsed that time by three seconds this past weekend, clocking in at 19:13.00 to finish in 16th place at the Cougar 5K Challenge.