Meet Week Preview
NCAA West Regional Championships (6K)
Friday, Nov. 9 | 11:00 a.m. PT | Arcade Creek 6k Course at Haggin Oaks Golf Course | Sacramento, Calif.
Media Coverage: FloSports (Subscription required)
The San Diego State cross country team will compete in the NCAA West Regional Championships (6k) this Friday at Haggin Oaks Golf Course in Sacramento, Calif. The course uses nine holes of the complex's Arcade Creek golf course following an outer and inner horseshoe design. Almost all the running on the flat course will occur on well-maintained fairway. The Aztecs competed on this course September 29 for the Capital Cross Challenge, taking 11th out of 26 teams and seventh among 14 DI programs. Carlene Masar, who missed the Aztecs last race with an injury, was the top SDSU runner in that race with a time of 22:30. Paige Comiso (22:42.2), Renee Laurenzana (22:48.9), Alize Hartke (22:52.0) and Marissa D'Atri (22:55.9) made up the Aztec top five.
Last Time Out
The Aztecs competed at the Mountain West cross country championships at Morley Field in Balboa Park on Oct.26. The Aztecs finished in tenth place out of 11 teams and were led by Renee Laurenzana.
Eight of the nine Aztecs runners were freshmen and they were without one of their top runners, Carlene Masar, who sat out due to injury.
"I'm proud of the team and their effort today," Coach Robert Lusitana said after the race. "This is the first collegiate championship race for the majority of them and we have one of the toughest cross country conferences in the nation. They are a young team that is still learning, and this race was a valuable experience for them."
Racing on a challenging and hilly course, Renee Laurenzana paced the Aztecs with a time of 23:16.0, good for 59th place. She became the fifth different Aztec runner to be the team's top finisher.
"Our team has incredible depth." Lusitana explained. "Our spread has been small all year long, which is a good sign for the future. Most of our freshmen are running much faster than they did in high school, which is encouraging."
Behind Laurenzana was Marissa D'Atri who was leading the Aztecs for much of the race. She finished in 66th place (23:34.8). The rest of the Aztecs' top five consisted of Paige Comiso (72nd; 23:52.5), Alize Hartke (73rd; 23:56.0) and Renee Phillips (79th; 23:34.5). Other Aztec runners included: Natalie Regalado (82nd; 25:15.0), Isabelle Davis (85th; 25:32.1), Natalie Medina (89th; 26:20.5) and Caitlyn Couch (89th; 26:34.1), who was battling an injury.
Aztec Storylines
• The Aztecs have had a different top finisher in all five of their races so far this season.
• Paige Comiso and Marisa D'Atri are the only two Aztecs to finish among the team's top five in all five races this season.
Aztecs Close Out Season at NCAA West Regionals
