Bulldog Runners Open Season Friday
9/2/2004 12:00:00 AM | Cross Country
Sept. 2, 2004
SPOKANE, Wash. - Gonzaga University's men's cross country team has been picked to finish second in the West Coast Conference preseason poll of coaches, while the Bulldog women have been tabbed third.
And head coach Kevin Swaim is optimistic heading into the season that opens Friday with the University of Idaho Invitational at 5:15 on the UI Golf Course. And rightfully so, as the men return six of the seven runners who helped the Bulldogs to second in last year's WCC Championship and the women return five performers from last year's fourth-place WCC team.
"The men's and women's programs are some of the deepest in terms of talent that we have had in several years," Swaim said. "We only lost one runner on the men's side and two runners off the women's team. We have some talented newcomers who can challenge for those open spots."
The men are senior laden with six dotting the roster, including first-team All-WCC selections Ryan Anderson and Joe Manning. Anderson was sixth at last year's WCC meet while Manning was eighth. Dan Futrell finished 13th to earn honorable mention recognition and Eric Berge and David Hannon also competed last year. The Bulldogs advanced to the NCAA West Regional for the first time since 1995. Jeff Rigby, a member of the Gonzaga rowing team his first two years at Gonzaga, competed in four meets last year for the Bulldogs and rounds out the senior class.
"This is a solid group of seniors that have helped return this program to where it was in the early 1990's," Swaim said. "They have all worked hard to get better every year and I think it is evident when you look at the finishes of Anderson, Manning and Futrell at last year's conference championship."
Sophomore sensation Joe Miller, who earned All-WCC honors last season with a seventh-place finish, is joined by returning underclassmen Eric Mendoza (junior) and Gabe Hayden (sophomore). Redshirt freshman Jeff Johnson and freshman Baraka Poulin could also push the upperclassmen.
"Our guys are going to have to battle for travel spots this year," Swaim said. "We have 11 skilled runners and only seven make the travel squad for most meets. I think that depth will only benefit our team as we try to make a run at Portland. They have set the standard for WCC excellence for years and we are going to give it our best shot this year."
The Bulldog men finished second behind perennial champion University of Portland for nine straight years from 1987-95, then had just two top three finishes until last year's runner-up performance.
Portland was tabbed to claim the 2004 men's title, receiving the maximum of 49 points and all seven first place votes from the other WCC schools. The Santa Clara University men received the one remaining first place vote. The Pilots have won the men's race 25 consecutive years, the longest streak in any sport in WCC history. Portland runners have also taken the top individual spot in as many years, with freshman Brett Carter taking home the title at the 2003 championship with a time of 25:42. In 2003, the Pilots recorded the top five fastest times and placed seven runners in the top 10, all receiving All-WCC honors.
Swaim is also looking for a strong performance from his women's squad, which captured the lone Gonzaga cross country title in its WCC history in 1995. The Bulldogs finished second in 1997 and 2000, and third in 1996 and 1998 for their best finishes since the title season.
"The women's team should improve on their fourth-place finish of a year ago," Swaim said. "We have a solid class of juniors returning."
The Bulldogs roster has five juniors, led by what Swaim calls the "J's" - Jill Semenza and Jamie Schiel.
"Those two were our leaders as sophomores," Swaim said. "They should only be better this year."
Semenza earned honorable mention All-WCC accolades a year ago with a 13th-place finish, while Schiel missed an honorable mention spot by one place when she finished 16th.
Other juniors looking for big seasons are Elizabeth Brands, Emily Buck and Molly Follen. Senior Jessica Hermens rounds out the upper class. Nellie Ballou is the lone sophomore this season, while Lindsay Smith joins the squad as the lone freshman.
"Competition will be fierce with eight runners competing for seven spots on the travel squad," Swaim said of his small squad. "This will also put some additional pressure on those women who work hard because every score and count toward moving up the WCC ladder."
In the WCC women's poll, both Portland and Santa Clara earned 46 points and received four first place votes. The Portland women, like their male counterparts, have dominated WCC cross country. The Pilots have won 14 of the last 19 women's championships the WCC has sponsored, including seven of the last eight. Santa Clara broke the Pilot's 5-year winning streak in 2001 and finished second to Portland the past two years. Last season Portland placed five runners in the top 10 of the women's competition, while the Broncos landed four in the top 10 and five in the top 15. The Broncos return all five of those top finishers from a year ago and are led by sophomore Lauren Swigart, SCU's fastest performer.
Last year's women's race belonged to San Diego's Tiffanie Marley, who returns to defend her title in 2004. Marley finished with a time of 18:04, and was the first Torero woman to win the WCC title.
The Bulldog teams face another tough schedule leading up to the WCC Championship. The Zags will compete at the Willamette (Ore.) Invitational and the National Catholic Invite at the University of Notre Dame, two of the bigger meets on the Bulldog slate. Gonzaga's women finished third at the 2002 National Catholic Invite while the men placed ninth in a race run in a sloppy conditions after heavy rains.
The 2004 WCC Men's and Women's Cross Country Championship will take place on Oct. 30 at Crystal Springs Cross Country Course in Belmont, CA. The Bulldog men will be looking for a second straight trip to the West Regional while the women are seeking their first appearance since 2000.
2004 WCC Preseason Cross Country Poll(First place votes in parentheses)
Men1. Portland (7) 492. Gonzaga 413. Santa Clara (1) 374. Loyola Marymount 315. San Francisco 226. Pepperdine 217. San Diego 128. Saint Mary's 11
Women1. Portland (4) 46 Santa Clara (4) 463. Gonzaga 304. Loyola Marymount 28 Pepperdine 286. San Francisco 237. San Diego 168. Saint Mary's 7
