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UA men's cross country team captures Pac-10 title

The UA men's cross country team won the Pacific 10 Conference title yesterday with all five scoring runners finishing in the top 11.

The UA women's team finished fifth. Both events were held in Long Beach, Calif.

"The way the men's team ran Saturday was as good of a team effort as I've seen in all my years of coaching," head coach Dave Murray said.

Senior Micheil Jones led the Wildcats, finishing second with a time of 23:48.90. Oregon senior Steve Fein placed first with a time of 23:37.00.

"Jones ran another exceptional race," Murray said.

Junior David Lopez finished fifth with a time of 24:02.20, sophomore Steve Smith was eighth in 24:28.10. Senior Brent Pederson finished 10th (24:36.00), sophomore Tom Prindiville came in 11th with a time of 24:36.30.

Sophomore Mike Cramer and senior Jeremy Lyon finished 14th and 33rd, respectively.

"The men's team really moved up to another level, they were very focused and went in believing Stanford could be beat, and they did it," Murray said.

The women's team did not run as well, placing fifth behind Stanford, Arizona State, Washington, and UCLA.

"I thought we had an outside chance of placing fourth, so fifth isn't bad," Murray said.

Sophomore Tara Chaplin led the Wildcats, finishing seventh with a time of 17:27.70. Sophomore Erin Doherty was 17th (18:01.00), junior Katrin Engelen was 27th (18:21.40), freshman Kimberly Bates finished 30th (18:39.50), and sophomore Jennifer Burris placed 38th (18:58.90).

Freshman Mandee Ash finished 38th, but did not score for Arizona. Senior Maia Wright did not run in the race.

"Tara ran a solid race, but of all the women, Erin Doherty was the best in terms of overall improvement," Murray said. "This is probably the best race she's ever run."

The Wildcats next race will be the NCAA West Regionals, Nov. 13, in Portland Ore. The teams will try to qualify for the NCAA Championships Nov. 23 in Bloomington Ind.