Oct. 17, 2009

TERRE HAUTE, Ind. - Sophomore Deborah Maier came in 13th among 247 runners to lead the Cal women's cross country team to a 13th-place in the white division of the Pre-National Invitational Saturday morning. The Golden Bear men also took the 18th spot in the blue division of the men's competition.

"Both men and women races didn't finish as well as we had hoped, especially since we were in good position early," head coach Tony Sandoval said. "I was pleased that we started so well and had a good packing half way into the race for both genders. We fell back in the last 1,200 meters or so and that effected both scores. We have time to fix finishing better for Pac-10's and regionals and were encouraged from today. The men have an additional challenge (especially the freshmen) to prepare for the longer distance of 10,000 at regionals and NCAA's."

The women's race featured 37 total teams, including 11 that ranked among the nation's top 30, and Cal placed ahead of two ranked programs - No. 12 Baylor, which finished 20th, and No. 27 Northern Arizona, which was 14th.

Maier covered the 6,000-meter course in 21:00.3 and continued with her strong fall campaign after taking fourth overall at the Stanford Invitational in the Bears' previous outing Sept. 26. Redshirt-freshman Ellie Keene was second among Cal runners, crossing the line in 54th (21:40.4). She was followed by sophomore Keena Kohl in 92nd (22:02.0), senior Alison Greggor in 96th (22:05.1) and sophomore Michelle Davis in 123rd (22:24.4). Freshman Sofia Oberg (165th, 22:51.9) and freshman Hillary Hayes (182nd, 23:05.3) rounded out the Bear contingent.

Maxime Chevee

"Deborarh has emerged as a force with her 13th place in the white division race," Sandoval said. "She was impressive with her strong finish. She continued to pass people throughout the second half of her race. She has a lot more in her as we see her running with the best at regional and beyond."

The men were 18th out of 34 teams in a field that featured nine schools ranked in the top 30. Junior Kari Karlsson paced the Bears with his 51st-place finish (24:42.2) over 8,000 meters, while freshman Collin Jarvis (84th, 25:00.5) and sophomore Maxime Chevee (100th, 25:09.9) were also among the top 100. Junior Chris Vizcaino, who was 105th in 25:14.3, and junior Steve Sodaro, who was 120th in 2:26.0, rounded out Cal's scorers. Freshmen Renaud Poizat (137th, 25:39.1) and Matt Petersen (191st, 26:11.6) also competed on the day.

The LaVern Gibson Cross Country Championship Course will also serve as the host site for the NCAA championships in November.

After a week off, Cal returns to action at the Pac-10 championships on Friday, Oct. 30, at the Sky Links Golf Course in Long Beach, Calif.

Pre-National Invitational
LaVern Gibson Cross Country Championship Course
Terre Haute, Indiana

Men's Results (8,000 meters)
Team Results: 1. Oregon 79; 2. Alabama 114; 3. Northern Arizona 115; 4. William & Mary 128; 5. Washington 183; 6. Auburn 263; 7. Washington State 274; 8. Tulsa 281; 9. North Carolina State 294; 10. Cal Poly 303; 11. Utah State 381; 12. Air Force 382; 13. Butler 388; 14. UTEP 391; 15. Florida 402; 16. Iowa 422; 17. Kansas 446; 18. California 460; 19. Indiana State 485; 20. Brown 486; 21. Michigan State 513; 22. Montana State 533; 23. Harvard 579; 24. Georgia 602; 25. Miami (Ohio) 608; 26. Illinois State 670; 27. Arizona 726; 28. Charlotte 756; 29. Toledo 836; 30. Marquette 904; 31. Georgia Tech 911; 32. Western Kentucky 957; 33. Loyola (Md.) 996; 34. IUPUI 1003.

Individual Winner: Luke Puskedra (Oregon) 23:40.2. Cal Finishers: 51. Kari Karlsson 24:42.2; 84. Collin Jarvis 25:00.5; 100. Maxime Chevee 25:09.9; 105. Chris Vizcaino 25:14.3; 120. Steve Sodaro 25:26.0; 137. Renaud Poizat 25:39.1; 191. Matt Petersen 26:11.6.

Women's Results (6,000 meters)
Team Results: 1. Washington 59; 2. Florida 89; 3. Princeton 126; 4. Syracuse 191; 5. Illinois 206; 6. Minnesota 214; 7. New Mexico 260; 8. North Carolina 314; 9. Notre Dame 323; 10. Arizona State 325; 11. Ohio State 366; 12. Texas 368; 13. California 378; 14. Northern Arizona 387; 15. William & Mary 406; 16. Colorado State 432; 17. Wichita State 444; 18. Kansas 448; 19. Georgia 492; 20. Baylor 546; 21. Brown 571; 22. Columbia 580; 23. Alabama 593; 24. Charlotte 651; 25. Akron 660; 26. Illinois State 662; 27. Wake Forest; 28. Washington State 674; 29. Montana 684; 30. Cincinnati 711; 31. Eastern Michigan 832; 32. UC Santa Barbara 849; 33. Jacksonville 855; 34. Utah State 866; 35. Western Michigan 960; 36. Georgia Tech 1007; 37. Loyola (Md.) 1078.

Individual Winner: Angela Bizzarri (Illinois) 20:27.8. Cal Finishers: 13. Deborah Maier 21:00.3; 54. Ellie Keene 21:40.4; 92. Keena Kohl 22:02.0; 96. Alison Greggor 22:05.1; 123. Michelle Davis 22:24.4; 165. Sofia Oberg 22:51.9; 182. Hillary Hayes 23:05.3.

Complete Results in PDF Format