MSU Billings Hosts PacWest Cross-Country
Championships Saturday (Oct. 21,
2004)
BILLINGS, MT – Six schools and
twelve cross-country teams will meet at Riverfront
Park in Billings this weekend for the 2004 Pacific
West Conference Cross-Country Championships hosted
by Montana State University-Billings. It will be
the first PacWest championship for cross-country
since 2001 when the meet was held in Hawaii.
All six members of the Pacific
West Conference (BYU-Hawaii, Chaminade, Hawaii
Pacific, Hawaii-Hilo, MSU Billings and Western New
Mexico) will send men’s and women’s teams to the
race. Coaches have registered a total of 41 women
and 39 men for the championship. The men’s 8,000
meters race will start at 10:00 a.m., followed by
the women’s 5,000 meters at approximately 11:00
a.m. MSU Billings will host a pasta dinner for all
12 teams Friday night.
The women’s race has a clear
favorite for both the individual and team titles.
Defending NCAA Division II National Champion Chelsea
Smith of BYU-Hawaii will be on the first leg of her
national title defense. The junior from Mead,
Wash., hasn’t been challenged this year and is
expected to run away with the conference individual
title.
“Chelsea Smith is the odds on
favorite,” said MSU Billings head coach Dave
Coppock. “I'm expecting her to set a course
record. The women's college record on our course is
18:04. She'll probably cruise through in about
17:20 or so.”
Anchored by Smith, the
Seasiders are the favorites to capture the team
title as well. They finished second last week at
the University of Hawaii Sprints and have won every
head-to-head race this season against PacWest
teams. Diana Choi has four top six finishes,
including a second at the Hawaii Pacific
Invitational. Jennifer Puzey has placed in the top
10 four times.
“I think we could be a strong
contender for second place along with Hilo,” said
Coppock. “Our times don't compare as fast head to
head with Hilo, but we've been on some pretty tough
courses. We should drop a minute or more for each
person on this course. Our girls don't realize yet
how fast they're going to be this weekend without
having to travel and being on the type of course
we're on. We typically drop that much time, or
more, from the other meets. I think Heidi
Robertson, Sarah Lord and Chelsea Lynnes all have
legitimate shots at the top 10.”
The men’s race should be a
battle between BYU-Hawaii and Hawaii-Hilo. The
Vulcans edged the Seasiders by four points in their
last head to head meeting at the Hawaii Pacific
Invitational. The Vulcans’ Germaine Ortiz won the
10K at HPU and hasn’t finished lower than seventh
this season. Paul Moth finished third in the HPU
race and has four top 10 finishes.
BYU-Hawaii captured the team
title at last week’s UH Sprints behind a first place
finish from Jacob Rushton. Rushton has five top
seven finishes this year. Jacob Puzey and Jeremy
Van Tress have also finished in the top 10 in every
race.
“The guys should have a shot at
fourth or possibly third if all goes well,” said
Coppock of the Yellowjackets’ prospects. “They too
are expected to drop their times significantly from
the Colorado and Black Hills courses. Hilo and BYU-Hawaii
have been close all year and are the favorites.
Hawaii Pacific has been running third. The men’s
course record of 24:47 could also fall this
weekend.”
The dark horse in both the
men’s and women’s races might be Western New
Mexico. The Mustangs have run primarily against
Division I opponents this year and train in the thin
air of Silver City, NM (elevation 6,142 feet). The
women finished fourth and the men sixth two weeks
ago at the Arizona State Invitational. Josh
Sifuentes placed 18th at ASU for the
men. Laura Van Buskirk finished in 22nd.
Following Saturday’s conference
championships, the Yellowjackets will host their
annual fun run and invitational race on October 30.
They will then compete in the NCAA West Regional on
November 6. This year’s host of the regional is
Western Washington University in Bellingham, WA.
The national championships will be held in
Evansville, IN on November 20. |
