Oct. 27, 1997
Golden Bears at Pac-10 Championships
THIS WEEK:
Sat. Nov. 1 at Pacific-10 Conference Championships
Women 3:30 p.m., Men 4:00 p.m.
Stanford University Golf Course, Stanford, CA
BEARS AT PAC-10 MEET:
The California men's and women's cross country teams travel to The Farm to compete in the 1997 Pacific-10 Conference Cross Country Championships on Saturday, Nov. 1. This will be the 13th annual championships for the women, and the 5,000 meter race will begin at 3:30 p.m. on the Stanford Golf Course. The 30th annual men's competition will cover 8,000 meters beginning at 4:00 p.m. Stanford is the defending Pac-10 Champion on both the men's and women's sides, and the Cardinal captured both NCAA titles last season as well. Arizona's Amy Skieresz will be attempting to win her third consecutive Pac-10 individual title, while UCLA's Mebrahtom Keflezighi will be racing for his second straight Pac-10 title. Stanford has served as host for the Pac-10 Championships since 1973, but after this season, the championships will rotate among the nine participating schools, with the 1998 meet taking place at the University of Oregon.
PAC-10 HISTORY:
Last season, the Cal men finished seventh at the Pac-10 Championships, while the Golden Bear women were eighth. The highest Pac-10 finish for the Cal women was a third place finish in both the 1986 and 1988 seasons, while the best finish for the Cal men was fourth place in 1981. Individually, a Cal woman has won a conference championship twice, with Kirsten O'Hara capturing the NorPac Championship in 1985 and Cindy Schmandt winning the NorCal Championship in 1979. In Pac-10 Conference Championships action (started in 1986 for women), Sabrina Han owns Cal best finish with a second place finish in 1989. For the men, Tom Downs finished second at the 1982 Pac-10 Championhips, while more recently, current Cal assistant Richie Boulet finished third in the Pac-10 in both 1994 and 1995.
HEAD COACH:
Cal head coach Tony Sandoval is in his sixth season at the helm of the combined men's and women's cross country program, after heading up the Bears women's program since 1982. He is assisted fby Richie Boulet, a six-time All-American at Cal, and Magdalena Lewy, a former Bear cross country runner and All-American trackster.
BEAR BITS:
Junior Elissa Riedy has been the Bears top finisher the past two years at the Pac-10 Championships. Riedy finished 22nd at the 1996 Pac-10 meet (17:51) and 37th in 1995 (18:47). Riedy has finished in the Top 10 of all four meets in which she has competed this season, including winning the individual title at the California/Nevada State Championships at Cal Poly SLO Oct. 18 (18:02). Her twin sister, Lori Riedy, posted the first win of her collegiate careeer at the UC Davis Aggie Invitational Oct. 4 (17:54) and was fifth at the Nevada Invitational Sept. 6. Lori finished 27th at the 1996 Pac-10 meet (18:03) and 40th in 1995 (18:55). Sophomore Peter Gilmore is coming off a victory at the California/Nevada State meet Oct. 18, and has three Top 10 finishes this season. Gilmore, who redshirted last season, finished 40th at the 1995 Pac-10 meet as a freshman. The Bears top male finisher last year was junior Simon Mudd, who was 27th (25:50) at the 1996 Pac-10 meet and 48th as a freshman in 1995 (27:13).
1997 California Men's & Women's Cross Country Results
