2008 SCIAC Cross Country Championships
2008 SCIAC Cross Country Championships
Occidental's men and Claremont-Mudd-Scripps's women wrapped up
SCIAC team titles Saturday, November 1, 2008 at the SCIAC
Championship meet. Occidental's men's title is their third in a
row.
The 2008 races were held on a warm, clear morning at Prado Park in
Chino, but post-race calculations were needed to sort out the
overall men's title. At the race, Claremont-Mudd-Scripps's men's
team won the Championship race with 37 points, with runners
finishing 2-6-8-10-11, while Occidental finished second with 43
points (1-3-5-13-21). But CMS came into the meet having finished
5-2 in the Multi-Dual meet, while Occidental had gone 7-0 in the
Multis. Combined with the results of today's race, Occidental
finished the season with one loss, while CMS finished the season
with two losses - giving the overall team title to Occidental.
Pomona-Pitzer finished third with 63 points in the Championship
race, followed by Redlands (118), Cal Lutheran (138), Whittier
(146), Caltech (191) and La Verne (incomplete team).
Things were clearer on the women's side. CMS, which had gone 7-0 in
the Multi-Duals meet on Oct. 18, also won the Championship meet
with 34 points, with runners finishing 2-4-5-11-12. Pomona-Pitzer,
second in the Multis at 6-1, also took second at the Championship
meet with 64 points (1-6-9-21-27).
Redlands finished third with 77 points in the Championship race,
followed by Whittier (97), Occidental (106), Cal Lutheran (138),
Caltech (197) and La Verne (incomplete team).
Individually, Occidental freshman Eric Kleinsasser won the men's
8000m (5 miles) race in 25:43 after taking the lead mid-way through
the race. The willowy harrier withstood a challenge from CMS's
Florian Scheulen, who finished in the runner-up spot in 25:46.
Keith Blumenfeld (Oxy) took third in 25:51, Torrey Olson (P-P) took
fourth in 25:58, and Clay Hoadley (Oxy) took fifth in 26:18.
Kleinsasser, also the Multi-Duals champ, took home 2008 SCIAC
Runner of the Year honors by winning both the Multi-Dual and
Championship meets.
On the women's side, Pomona-Pitzer senior Anna Scharfen surged to
the lead with 400m to go to win the 6000m (3.7 mile) Championship
race in 23:00. In something of an upset, Scharfen beat CMS's
Evelyn Ross (23:16), who finished in the runner-up spot for the
second year in a row. Michele Callaway (Whittier) took third in
23:28, Julia Rigby (CMS) took fourth in 23:35, and Kathleen Harris
(CMS) took fifth in 23:46.
Ross earned 2008 SCIAC Runner of the Year honors by virtue of her
combined finishes in the two SCIAC races. She won the Multi-Duals
and took second at the Championships to score three points.
Scharfen took third in the Multi-Duals and won the Championships to
score four points.
