October 28, 2007
Racing into Big West history
Cal Poly men win fifth straight title and sweep the first five places —a conference first
By Joshua Ayers
In a word, Cal Poly cross country coach Mark Conover described his men’s team’s performance as solid.
But solid may be an understatement as the Mustangs posted the first sweep in Big West Conference Championships history Saturday at the Fairbanks Memorial Cross County Course in San Luis Obispo.
Cal Poly, led by senior Phillip Reid, took the first five spots at the championships to take home its fifth consecutive conference title and its eighth in 10 years.
If that wasn’t enough, all five of the Mustangs’ runners finished the 8K race under the previous course record of 25 minutes, 38.2 seconds set by Cal Poly’s Sean Rickets in November 2003.
“Any time you do that, it’s something very special,” said Conover, whose team won with 15 points. “That’s the ultimate score in cross countr y. It’s like shooting a few eagles in your golf game and it’s quite a testimony to them and what they wanted to get done out here today. I’m really proud of them, it’s quite an accomplishment.”
Reid now owns the course record at 25:12.4 and was followed by junior Troy Swier (25:21.1). Mustangs sophomore Evan Anderson (25:22), junior Jeff Lease (25:23.2) and sophomore Joe Gatel (25:24.2) finished third through fifth, respectfully, with less than two seconds separating the three.
“It was the most amazing feeling finishing that race and then looking back and seeing four of my teammates come in right behind me,” Reid said.
UC Riverside’s Ulices Pina finished sixth and was the only other person to complete the race faster than the previous course record.
Cal Poly’s Carl Dargitz is the probable Big West Freshman of the Year. He was 15th overall in 25:56.3 and was the first freshman to finish the race.
UC Santa Barbara finished second as a team with 53 points. UC Riverside (third, 79), Long Beach State (fourth, 134), UC Irvine (fifth, 137), UC Davis (sixth, 140), Cal State Fullerton (seventh, 187) and Cal State Northridge (eighth, 240) rounded out the rest of the field.
The Gauchos had better luck in the women’s 6K race, winning the event with 44 points thanks to having three runners finish in the top five. Megan Lewis won in 21:16.
Cal Poly placed seventh with 147 points.
Kimberly Donatelli was the top finisher for the Mustangs, posting a seventh-place time of 22:16.5 and teammate Bridie McCarey was the second Mus-tang to finish (13th, 22:31).
“I was so happy with the outcome,” Donatelli said. “I wanted to go out and get top 10 and that’s what happened.”
Donatelli finished 19th at the Big West Championships last year and was the conference’s freshman of the year.
“I thought Kimberly and Bridie ran great races really,” Conover said.
The Cal Poly women’s team ran three sophomores and five freshman in the race.
“They’re a great group of ladies, very, very committed, just young,” Conover said. “To come out here and to get this type of experience is valuable toward the future. … With more training under their belt, the future looks bright.”
UC Riverside finished second overall (57 points) and was followed by UC Irvine (third, 59), Long Beach State (fourth, 93), UC Davis (fifth, 136), Cal State Fullerton (sixth, 139), Pacific (eighth, 258) and Cal State Northridge (ninth, 272).
Both Cal Poly teams next travel to Eugene, Ore., on Nov. 10 for the NCAA West Regional.
Conover believes that the Western Region is “a deep, if not the deepest distance region in the country.”
Seven men’s teams from the West Region, including Cal Poly, were ranked in the top 30 entering the weekend. Oregon leads both the region and the nation.
The Cal Poly men’s team got a preview of the course at the Bill Dellinger Invitational on Sept. 29, where the Mustangs placed eighth.