Nov. 10, 2007
EUGENE, Ore. - The San Diego State cross country team completed its season at the ultra-competitive NCAA West Regional Championships at Springfield Country Club in Eugene, Ore., on Saturday afternoon. Senior Lisa Naucler led the way for the seventh and final race of 2007, while sophomores Darien Buc and Lindsay Barajas established personal records at the 6,000-meter course.
Naucler broke her former teammate Celeste Tyson's record from last year as she led the team in all seven `A' team races in 2007. The senior team captain logged the third-fastest 6K time of the season for the Aztecs with a time of 22 minutes, 57.24 seconds. Despite finishing in 138th place, her performance was better than Tyson's from a year ago when Tyson, SDSU's top runner that day, finished 67th with a mark of 23:06.31.
Junior Kristin Glen concluded her first season in scarlet and black by recording SDSU's second-fastest time at 23:19.30. Trailing Glen was Buc, who turned in a personal-record effort of 23:40.70. Buc's performance surpassed her previous personal-best time of 24:00.00 accomplished at the Stanford Invitational earlier this season.
The next three Aztecs all finished within 34 seconds of each of other. Headlining the trio was sophomore Makenzie Mabry, who posted a time of 24:03.50, while junior Anne Vieira crossed the finish line in 24:14.60. The third member of the group was sophomore Stephanie Armstrong with a time 24:37.20.
Barajas, who was called up to the `A' team for the Mountain West Conference Championships in late October, made the trip for the second consecutive week and continued her strong running by recording a new personal record. The Rancho Cucamonga, Calif., native navigated the course in 25:14.65, just under 15 seconds faster than her previous PR set last season as a freshman.
Despite finishing in 29th place with 819 points, San Diego State's top-six finishers had times faster than its second-place athlete from a year ago. In 2006 when SDSU finished 25th, Meryl Follosco logged the Aztecs' second-best time at 24:51.47. This year, Naucler, Glen, Buc, Mabry, Vieira and Armstrong all completed the race at least 14 seconds faster than Follosco in 2006.
NCAA West Regional Championships
Springfield Country Club (Eugene, Ore.)
Team Results (Top 5 of 31 and SDSU only)
1. Stanford - 33 points
2. Oregon - 72
3. Arizona State - 106
4. Washington - 118
5. UC Santa Barbara - 143
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29. San Diego State - 819
San Diego State Individual Results
138. Lisa Naucler (SDSU) - 22:57.24
160. Kristin Glen (SDSU) - 23:19.30
172. Darien Buc (SDSU) - 23:40.70 (personal record)
182. Makenzie Mabry (SDSU) - 24:03.50
187. Anne Vieira (SDSU) - 24:14.60
192. Stephanie Armstrong (SDSU) - 24:37.20
201. Lindsay Barajas (SDSU) - 25:14.65 (personal record)