Oct. 27, 2001

UCLA's women's cross country team, ranked No. 22 in the U. S., placed fourth and the Bruin men's squad was sixth, at the 2001 Pacific-10 Cross Country Championships, held Saturday (Oct. 27) on the Pavilion Lakes Golf Course in Scottsdale, AZ. The temperature was in the 90s at race time.

Stanford, ranked No. 1 in the nation in the women's division and No. 2 in men's, won both team titles. In women's team scoring, the Cardinal won with 27 points, followed by No. 11 Arizona (64), No. 7 Arizona State (79), No. 22 UCLA (107), No. 13 Washington (109), Washington State (155), USC (168), Oregon (210) and California (259). The Bruin women are hoping to pair this fourth-place conference finish with a strong NCAA West Region Qualifying effort to qualify as a team to the 2001 NCAA Championships. The last time the Bruin women qualified as a team to the NCAA was in 1998 and '99. Last season, the UCLA women placed sixth at the Pac-10.

In the men's division, Stanford took the team crown with 28 points, followed by No. 19 Arizona State (75), No. 20 Oregon (78), No. 13 Arizona (96), No. 24 Washington (102), UCLA (148), Washington State (163) and California (192). The Bruin men are without three of their top runners because of injury. In 2000, the UCLA men also placed sixth at the conference meet.

In the women's 6000m individual race, the winner was Stanford's Lauren Fleshman (20:08.1). UCLA's top finisher was junior Elaine Canchola, who placed 16th, with a time of 21:43.8. The Bruin women had three other runners in the Top 25 - sophomore Valerie Flores (19th, 21:52.7), freshman Carolyn Shea (20th, 21:53.5) and freshman Alejandra Barrientos (23rd, 22:03.9). Barrientos has been UCLA's top runner all season but has recently recovered from the flu.

Rounding out the UCLA's top seven women's runners were sophomore Lena Nilsson (29th, 22:31.6), in the first major cross country race of her career, freshman Lori Mann (30th, 22:39.9) and sophomore Jessica Mann (39th, 23:13.6).

"We got strong performances from Elaine (Canchola), Valerie (Flores) and Carolyn (Shea)," said Bruin head coach Eric Peterson. "After being sick, Alejandra (Barrientos) is still rounding into form and this was Lena's first major race. And even though we didn't run our best race, we did finish ahead of Washington, a team that is nationally-ranked ahead of us. Over the next two weeks, we are just going to continue to improve, get well and get stronger. We are looking for an even better performance at the NCAA West Regional in two weeks."

In the men's 8000m race, the individual winner was Stanford's Grant Robison (24:04.0). The Bruins' top runner was senior Bryan Green, who placed 18th in a time of 25:11.7. Green, the No. 1 UCLA men's runner, has also just recovered from the flu and continues in his quest to qualify as an individual, for the second consecutive season, to the upcoming NCAA Championships.

Also running well for the Bruin men was true freshman Ben Aragon, who finished 19th (25:12.3). UCLA's other men runners were - senior Justin Patananan (29th, 25:49.3), junior Phil Young (39th, 26:16.5), freshman Puneet Mahan (43rd, 26:33.2), freshman Seth Neumuller (48th, 26:42.1) and freshman Reggie Oronoz (53rd, 27:49.8).

"Because of our injuries, we weren't expected to finish high in the men's team standings," said Peterson. "But we gave a gutsy performance and was able to finish ahead of Washington State, a team that received Top 25 votes last week. This squad is young and not at full-strength, but this performance gives a promising outlook for the future. This team grew up a lot today and did a good job."

Looking ahead, UCLA will compete in the NCAA West Region Qualifying meet on Sat., Nov. 10 at Tucson, AZ. The 2001 NCAA Championships will be held in Greenville, SC on Monday, Nov. 19.

2001 Pac-10 Cross Country Championships

Men Team Scoring                    Women Team Scoring 
1. Stanford 28                      1. Stanford 27
2. Arizona State 75                 2. Arizona 64
3. Oregon 78                            3. Arizona State 79
4. Arizona 96                           4. UCLA 107
5. Washington 102                   5. Washington 109
6. UCLA 148                         6. Washington State 155
7. Washington State 163         7. USC 168
8. California 192                       8. Oregon 210
                                        9. California 259
MEN (8000m) -Top Five 
1. Grant Robison, Stanford 24:04.0
2. Fasil Bizunch, Arizona State 24:06.4
3. Donald Sage, Stanford 24:11.4
4. Jason Fayant, Washington 24:17.7
5. Ian Dobson, Stanford 24:26.3

WOMEN (6000m) -Top Five
1. Lauren Fleshman, Stanford 20:08.1
2. Sara Bei, Stanford 20:17.4
3. Tara Chaplin, Arizona 20:19.6
4. Everlyn Lagat, Washington State 20:48.0
5. Alicia Craig, Stanford 20:56.0

UCLA Men Runners                    UCLA Women Runners
18. Bryan Green, 25:11.7                    16. Elaine Canchola, 21:43.8
19. Ben Aragon, 25:12.3                 19. Valerie Flores, 21:52.7
29. Justin Patananan, 25:49.3           20. Carolyn Shea, 21:53.5
39. Phil Young, 26:16.5                  23. Alejandra Barrientos, 22:03.9
43. Puneet Mahan, 26:33.2               29. Lena Nilsson, 22:31.6
48. Seth Neumuller, 26:42.1         30. Lori Mann, 22:39.9
53. Reggie Oronoz, 27:49.8              39. Jessica Marr, 23:13.6