Cross country heads to Indiana for pre-NCAAs


By Staff and wire reports
Arizona Daily Wildcat
Friday, October 15, 2004

The UA men's and women's cross country teams travel to Terre Haute, Ind. for the 2004 Pre-NCAA Invitational tomorrow.

Indiana State University will play host to 86 men's teams and 85 teams at the Wabash Valley Family Sports Center. There will be a total of six races, including two open races.

The Wildcat women will run in the women's Blue race, which is scheduled to start at 11 a.m. CT. The men will run in the men's White race at 12:50 p.m. CT.

The women's course will be 6,000 meters, while the men will run an 8,000-meter race. Both courses will serve as a preview for the NCAA Championships in November.

The Wildcats have a tough task ahead of them with a large field that includes a number of the nation's top teams. The men have been unranked for two consecutive weeks, but they are holding on to nine votes in the Men's MONDO Coaches' Poll. The Arizona women have not been ranked yet in 2004 and are not currently receiving any votes.

In the women's Blue race, the Wildcats will be among a field of 36 teams, including 14 squads ranked in the most current FinishLynx Top 30 coaches' poll. Arizona's main competition will come from No. 1 Stanford, No. 6 Notre Dame, No. 8 North Carolina, No. 10 Missouri, No. 13 BYU, No. 16 Baylor, No. 18 Columbia, No. 19 Georgia, No. 23 Idaho, No. 25 UCLA, No. 26 Butler, No. 27 Texas Tech, No. 28 Georgetown and No. 30 Marquette.

The Arizona men will have their work cut out for them, as well. The Wildcats face a field of 37 teams, including 11 ranked squads. Included in the field for the men's White race are: No. 2 Stanford, No. 5 Michigan, No. 8 North Carolina State, No. 9 Notre Dame, No. 12 Villanova, No. 14 BYU, No. 18 Florida State, No. 24 Oregon, No. 25 Ohio State and No. 27 Montana State.

After a disappointing trip to Minnesota for the Roy Griak Invitational, the Wildcats came roaring back with a strong race at the ASU Invitational. Arizona swept the team titles, and senior Beth Hoge claimed the women's individual title.

The UA men won with 37 points, while ASU was second with 67, followed by Gateway Community College's 116 points. Freshman Mohamed Trafeh led the men's squad with a fourth-place finish. He finished the 8,000-meter race in 25:23.8

Hoge led the Wildcat women to a low score of 21 points. She won the 6,000-meter race in 18:20.5.