Top runners train for the upcoming NCAA Preview
Meet
The top four runners on the UCLA women’s cross-country
team will not compete in Saturday’s Triton Classic Cross
Country Invitational, hosted by UC San Diego. Sophomores Alejandra
Barrientos, Lori Mann and Carmen Winant and freshman Jenna Timinsky
will spend the weekend preparing for the upcoming NCAA Preview Meet
at Indiana State Oct. 19.
Indiana State will be hosting the 2002 NCAA Cross Country
Championship this year on Nov. 25. The preview meet will give the
women a chance to get a feel for the course in preparation for the
championships.
The rest of the women’s team will be running Saturday in
La Jolla. Runners to watch will be freshman Allison Hall and junior
Melissa McBain, who finished 34th and 35th, respectively, in their
last meet at Stanford on Sept. 28.
“McBain and Hall have been consistent performers over the
past two races,” UCLA head coach Eric Peterson said in a
statement. “We have a number of very capable runners on this
entry list that can contribute at a scoring level.”
Men’s team to compete in San Diego
The UCLA men’s team will not be resting at its meet
Saturday in San Diego. All of the men will compete in the
Invitational, including sophomores Ben Aragon and Erik Emilsson.
Both runners placed in the top 50 at their last meet at Stanford on
Sept. 28.
The Stanford Invitational proved disappointing for the Bruin
men. Their highest score came from Ben Aragon who placed 38th. The
team is looking to rebound from this showing and improve their rank
in the upcoming weekend meets. In addition to the Invitational this
weekend, they will also be participating in the Cal Poly
Invitational on Oct. 19.
Jon Rankin will be the only Bruin not competing this weekend.
Rankin, one of the team’s top three runners, is recovering
from minor tendonitis in his right calf. Peterson said that the
injury is minor and that Rankin will only be out for the first few
races this season. He is expected to be back in time for the Pac-10
Championships on Nov. 2.
Illness hinders men’s and women’s
teams
A group of runners are recovering from a respiratory chest cold
that has ravaged members of both squads. Valerie Flores of the
women’s team is back in the lineup after battling illness;
however, Sara West and Carolyn Shea are continuing to recover.
The cold has also affected runners on the men’s team.
“The illness definitely had an affect on the men’s
performance at Stanford,” Peterson said.
With the men’s team feeling better, their chances at
redemption are looking good.
The teams have traveled together twice in the past month,
isolating themselves for high altitude training in Mammoth and
competing together in Hawaii. Coach Peterson believes this could
have led to the easier spread of illness in addition to the
“closeness of dorm life.”
Both teams are very young; they are made up of almost all
freshmen and sophomore runners.
Compiled by Katie Filbeck, Daily Bruin Contributor