Nov. 14, 2009

SPRINGFIELD, Ore. - Both the California men's and women's cross country teams finished eighth at the NCAA regional championships held Saturday at Springfield Country Club in Springfield, Ore. Sophomore Deborah Maier paced with women by coming in 14th, while junior Steve Sodaro led the men with a 16th-place finish.

Maier was the top finisher for the Bears for the fourth time this season and improved on her team-best 39th-place standing at regionals last fall. Maier, who completed the 6,000-meter course in 21:20.43, had the best showing by a Cal woman at regionals since Bridget Duffy was eighth in 2003.

Sophomore Keene Kohl was second among Bear runners, claiming 38th in 21:57.54, with junior Rowena Tam taking 54th in 22:17.90, senior Alison Greggor 63rd in 22:25.78 and freshman Hillary Hayes 97th in 22:55.80. Chelsea Reilly (111th, 23:06.62) and Taylor Bryson (112th, 23:07.32) also raced on Saturday.

The Bears were without several of their top runners on the day, including freshman Ellie Keene, who was 20th at the Pac-10 meet two weeks ago, and sophomore Michelle Davis, Cal's fifth finisher at the conference championships.

"We fell short today on both sides on a muddy and heavy course in springfield today," head coach Tony Sandoval said. "The women had high hopes after a fifth-place finish at Pac-10's and being ranked 27th in the latest poll. Unfortunately, they ran without number two runner, Ellie Keene, who's been solid behind Deborah Maier all season long. A foot injury suffered at the Pac-10's didn't respond to treatment and she didn't make the trip. Maier, who's has a stellar season, was sick all week and added to her woes by falling on the last turn and finished 14th. I don't know if it will get her to the NCAA's. Keena Kohl topped off a fine season with a solid 39th place."

Sodaro had the strongest finish for the Golden Bear men as he took 16th place in 31:10.42 over the 10,000-meter course, a significant improvement over his 44th-place showing as a sophomore in 2008. Junior Kari Karlsson also crossed the line in the Top 25 by taking 21st in 31:14.40.

Freshman Cody Schmidt was the next Bear finisher, coming in 45th in 31:57.52, while junior Chris Vizcaino (63rd, 32:19.44) and freshman Collin Jarvis (77th, 32:40.92) rounded out Cal's scoring runners. Freshman Renaud Poizat (80th, 32:47.93) and sophomore Maxime Chevee (159th, 34:40.09) completed the Bears' results.

"The men had a commendable effort considering the injury and sickness that plagued them all season long," Sandoval said. "In fact, this was the only meet where everyone was healthy. Steve Sodaro and Kari Karlsson led the Bears with career-best days finishing, 16th and 21st, respectively. Both were named to the all-regional team. We'll have to wait and see if Steve makes it to NCAA's as an individual. Freshmen Cody Schmidt also ran a career best effort with a 45th."

The top two teams in each race - Washington and Oregon for the women, and Stanford and Portland for the men - earned automatic berths to the NCAA championships Nov. 23 in Terre Haute, Ind. The Bears will now wait for the NCAA to announce at-large team and individual berths on Sunday afternoon.

Men's Results - 10,000 meters
Team Standings: 1. Stanford 27; 2. Portland 84; 3. Oregon 109; 4. Washington 120; 5. Cal Poly 155; 5. Arizona State 155; 7. UCLA 209; 8. California 217; 8. UC Santa Barbara 217; 10. Washington State 268; 11. UC Davis 287; 12. UC Riverside 340; 13. Loyola Marymount 387; 14. Long Beach State 431; 15. Boise State 443; 16. Santa Clara 465; 17. Fresno State 498; 18. UC Irvine 499; 19. San Francisco 522; 20. Sacramento State 574; 21. Cal State Fullerton 602; 22. Pepperdine 698; 23. Eastern Washington 709; 24. Portland State 712; 25. Saint Mary's 713; 26. San Diego 741.

Individual Winner: 1. Chris Derrick (Stanford) 30:38.84. Cal Finishers: 16. Steve Sodaro 31:10.42; 21. Kari Karlsson 31:14.40; 45. Cody Schmidt 31:57.52; 63. Chris Vizcaino 32:19.44; 77. Collin Jarvis 32:40.92; 80. Renaud Poizat 32:47.93; 159. Maxime Chevee 34:40.09.

Women's Results - 6,000 meters
Team Standings: 1. Washington 25; 2. Oregon 66; 3. Stanford 94; 4. Arizona State 119; 5. Arizona 202; 6. UC Santa Barbara 228; 7. UC Davis 232; 8. California 255; 9. Oregon State 302; 10. San Francisco 304; 11. UCLA 321; 12. Cal Poly 328; 13. Loyola Marymount 334; 14. Long Beach State 403; 15. Washington State 410; 16. Portland 420; 17. UC Riverside 433; 18. Sacramento State 457; 19. Santa Clara 500; 20. USC 535; 21. UC Irvine 581; 22. San Diego 616; 23. UNLV 658; 24. Portland State 736; 25. Pepperdine 742.

Individual Winner: 1. Kendra Schaaf (Washington) 20:41.70. Cal Finishers: 14. Deborah Maier 21:20.43; 38. Keena Kohl 21:57.54; 54. Rowena Tam 22:17.90. 63. Alison Greggor 22:25.78. 97. Hillary Hayes 22:55.80. 111. Chelsea Reilly 23:06.62. 112. Taylor Bryson 23:07.32.

Complete Results in PDF Format