2011 SCIAC Cross Country Championships Preview
A number of intriguing storylines will be on offer at Saturday's
2011 SCIAC Cross Country Championships. Races will be held at Prado
Park in Chino, with the women's 6000m starting gun firing at 8:30am
and the men's 8000m race start at 9:15am. Park gates open at 7:30am
and a $7 parking fee will be charged to enter Prado Park. All
16 conference teams (8 men, 8 women) will compete in this meet
worth 50% of the conference title; the SCIAC Multi-dual meet held
on October 15 determined the current standings going into this race
for the SCIAC crown.
MEN'S TEAM
The men's team battle looks to be exceptionally tight at
the top. Three SCIAC teams – Occidental, Pomona-Pitzer and
Claremont-Mudd-Scripps – stand 1-2-3 in the NCAA West Region
rankings, and all three are nationally-ranked. In very
closely-scored dual meets at the October 15 SCIAC Multi-Duals held
at La Mirada, Occidental went 7-0 to upset Pomona-Pitzer (6-1) and
Claremont-Mudd-Scripps (5-2) – both Claremont Colleges teams
having been the top two region-ranked teams for most of September
and early October. In the most recent national rankings, Occidental
jumped into the polls for the first time this season at #26, with
#28 Pomona-Pitzer and #31 Claremont-Mudd-Scripps close behind.
Behind these top three at the SCIAC Multi-Duals were #8 Region-ranked La Verne (4-3), Whittier (3-4), Cal Lutheran (2-5), Caltech (1-6) and Redlands (0-7).
MEN'S INDIVIDUAL
Occidental senior Eric Kleinsasser is attempting
to become the SCIAC's first male runner to win four consecutive
individual SCIAC Championship titles. The Glendale, California ace
previously won conference titles at Prado Park in 2008 (25:43),
2009 (25:24) and 2010 (25:53). Since the SCIAC's founding in 1915,
only two others besides Kleinsasser have won three straight titles:
Pomona-Pitzer's Crosby Freeman (2003, 2004, 2005) and Occidental's
John Barnes (1949, 1950, 1951).
Earlier this season Kleinsasser took 4th at the UC Irvine meet, won
the 'B' race at the UC Riverside meet in a sparkling 24:21, and
took 2nd behind an unattached runner at the Oct. 1 Pomona-Pitzer
Invitational.
At the SCIAC Multi-Dual meet, Kleinsasser's teammate, frosh Colin Smith, finished
second to give the Tigers a solid 1-2 punch, with ULV junior Alex Forbess third,
Pomona-Pitzer junior Alex
Johnson fourth, and ULV sophomore A.J. Licon fifth.
WOMEN'S TEAM
Claremont-Mudd-Scripps looks to be the runaway team
favorite on the women's side. The Athenas have been the top-ranked
team in the NCAA West Region all season, and are currently ranked
third nationally. CMS handily went 7-0 in the October 15 SCIAC
Multi-Dual meets, with Whittier finishing 6-1. Currently ranked #31
nationally, Whittier is also regionally-ranked at #4, ahead of #7
Occidental (5-2 at the Multi-Duals) and #9 Pomona-Pitzer (4-3 at
the Multi-Duals). Behind these top four at the SCIAC Multi-Duals
were Cal Lutheran (3-4), Redlands (2-5), La Verne (1-6) and Caltech
(0-7).
WOMEN'S INDIVIDUAL
The women's individual race features numerous
personalities to follow. Last year's winner Michele Callaway, a senior
from Whittier, clocked 22:57 for the 2010 victory, and looks to be
peaking for this fall's late season meets. CMS senior Jennifer Tavé has been on fire
all season, finishing 5th at the UC Irvine Invite, 5th at the UC
Riverside Invite in a phenomenal 20:51 over 6000m, and 18th at the
Stanford Invite as the first Division III runner. Pomona-Pitzer
junior Annie
Lydens likewise is a threat after winning her home
Pomona-Pitzer meet on Oct. 1 and winning the SCIAC Multi-Dual meet
two weeks ago at La Mirada. Behind Lydens at the Multi-Dual meet
were Tavé, CLU senior Toccoa Kahovec, CMS senior
Breanna Deutsch,
and CMS sophomore Adele
Eslinger.
MORE
Following the SCIAC Championship meet, SCIAC harriers will
compete in the NCAA Division III West Regional meet on Nov. 12.
Occidental is hosting the meet on Pomona-Pitzer's home course in
Claremont. Teams and individuals at the West Regional Meet earn
berths to the NCAA Division III National Championships a week later
on Nov. 19, hosted by Wisconsin-Oshkosh on their Lake Breeze
course.
About the Meet: SCIAC Cross Country
Championships
When: Saturday, October 29, 2011
Where: Prado Regional Park, 16700 Euclid Avenue, Chino,
CA.
Course Map
*Parking fee of $7 to enter the park.
Race Times (Distances):
8:30 a.m., PST (Women's 6,000-Meters)
9:15 a.m., PST (Men's 8,000-Meters)