Cross-Country has disappointing finish

By Brian Betz

Both the men's and women's cross-country teams ended their remarkable seasons on a somber note Saturday, as the men placed 16th out of 20, and the women placed 21st out of 23 at the West Regional.

Although making history was the theme of the 2001 season, with the women and men finishing 1st and 2nd in the West Coast Conference respectively, the increased level of competition down in Tucson made it difficult for the Broncos to achieve the same success they found in WCC competion.

Junior Thomas Chapman was top runner for the men, with a time of 34:08, good enough for 80th place. Sophomore Benjamin Gauen crossed the line just two seconds after Chapman to finish in 82nd place. Sophomores Devlin Croal, Ricky Brackett and Kevin Edwards rounded out the Broncos scoring with times of 35:53, 36:12 and 36:16, respectively.

"We set a pre-season goal of placing 15th for this race," men's Head Coach John Maloney said. "Going into it I felt we were the 16th best team in the region, and although we did not attain our ideal goal, it is interesting to see that we ran according to where I expected us to finish."

Despite the team's inspiring regular season, Saturday's disappointing results should leave considerable room for improvement before next season. The Broncos program is widely regarded as one that is rapidly on the rise both in the conference, and in the Western region.

"We had a bad day from most of our runners," Maloney said. "It hurt to have a sub-par performance in our biggest meet of the year, yet we improved on last year's 18th place finish. A lot of improvement is needed in the off-season for us to finish in the top 12."

The women unfortunately experienced similar problems in the desert. The dry air and heat contrasted the mild climate most WCC teams train and compete in.

Their top runner in the race and Freshman of the Year, Robin Bell, concluded the course in 79th, with a time of 24:05. Junior Andrea Gastelum ran at 24:08, good for 82nd, while sophomores Milena Basile and Kasey Shemwell and freshman Katie Hansen completed the scoring for the women.

Despite these results that come after their first-ever WCC title, the women are returning a handful of talented young runners, giving reason to expect great success in 2002. The men's squad should be stronger than this year considering they have several redshirt runners returning.