Oct. 1, 2005
SALEM, Ore. - Chris Ferren-Cirino placed 21st in the men's 8-kilometer race while Kim Conley finished 25th in the women's 5K competition as both UC Davis cross country teams posted top 10 showings in the university division at the 31st annual Willamette Invitational at Bush Park on Saturday morning.
The Aggie men were fifth while the women placed eighth.
Ferren-Cirino, a junior from Burlingame, was the top Aggie men across the finish line on Saturday, clocking a time of 24 minutes, 26.00 seconds to beat teammate Patrick Parsel, who was 37th in 24:48.00. The pair helped lead the UC Davis men's team to 160 points and a fifth-place showing among 11 teams. Portland won with just 36 points while Washington was second at 47. Air Force finished third and Oregon was fourth.
Conley, a sophomore from Santa Rosa, paced the Aggie women for the third consecutive meet, crossing the finish on Saturday morning in 18:04.40. She led four Aggies who placed in the top 50 of the 138-runner field. UC Davis finished with 205 points, good enough for eighth-place. The Washington Huskies edged Oregon for top team honors, scoring 55 points, three fewer than the Ducks. Iowa finished third while UC Irvine was fourth.
Both UC Davis teams were coming off competition last week at the Stanford Invitational.
For the men, senior Tony Ahr was 40th in 24:53.20 to finish third among the Aggies, Jorge Murillo finished 43rd overall in 24:57.50 and K.C. Cody was 52nd in 25:17.30. Chris Pecot was 63rd and Chris Fuller placed one spot behind him to round out UC Davis' top seven finishers. The Aggie men had a time-gap of 51.30 seconds among its top five runners.
"For us to be in that type of competition... we held our composure well," said UC Davis coach Jason Jaques. "I was very pleased with how the team ran."
Michelle Solone, Lorin Scott and Mandy Beatty each crossed in the top 50 for the UC Davis women. Solone was 36th in 18:15.55, Scott was 46th in 18:25.80 and Beatty placed 47th in 18:26.15. The Aggies' top seven was completed by Jenny Wilson in 54th (18:33.90), Amy Robinson in 58th (18:39.00) and Laura Sharp in 68th (18:48.25). UC Davis' time-gap for its top five finishers was just 29.50 seconds.
"We did a good job of pack running but we just have to push the front a little bit more in the meets coming up in the future," said Jaques regarding the women's team. "They did a goob job of communicating and pulling themselves along."
Mark Mandi of Washington won the men's race in 23:44.70 while Dee Olson of Idaho was the top women's finisher, crossing in 17:01.50.
UC Davis will return to action on Oct. 15 when the Aggies travel to Santa Clara for the Bronco Invitational, their final race before the NCAA Division I Independents Championships on Oct. 29.
Willamette Invitational
Bush Park (Salem, Ore.)
UC Davis results only
WOMEN'S TEAM - 1. Washington, 55; 2. Oregon, 58; 3. Iowa, 112; 4. UC Irvine, 115; 5. San Diego State, 120; 6. Idaho, 151; 7. Oregon State, 166; 8. UC Davis, 205; 9. Air Force, 242; 10. Boise State, 277; 11. Portland, 281; 12. San Francisco, 319; 13. Portland State, 334; 14. Gonzaga, 416; 15. Saint Mary's, 460.
WOMEN'S INDIVIDUAL - 1. Dee Olson, Idaho, 17:01.50... 25. Kim Conley, 18:04.40; 36. Michelle Solone, 18:15.55; 46. Lorin Scott, 18:25.80; 47. Mandy Beatty, 18:26.15; 54. Jenny Wilson, 18:33.90; 58. Amy Robinson, 18:39.00; 68. Laura Sharp, 18:48.25; 86. Kaitlin Gregg, 19:09.05; 93. Megan Hetherington-Rauth, 19:17.45; 97. Sarah Stacionis, 19:29.20;
MEN'S TEAM - 1. Portland, 36; 2. Washington, 47; 3. Air Force, 75; 4. Oregon, 82; 5. UC Davis, 160; 6. UC Irvine, 191; 7. Boise State, 215; 8. Idaho, 222; 9. San Francisco, 239; 10. Portland State, 319; 11. Saint Mary's 330.
MEN'S INDIVIDUAL - 1. Mark Mandi, Washington, 23:44.70... 21. Chris Ferren-Cirino, 24:26.00; 37. Patrick Parsel, 24:48.00; 40. Tony Ahr, 24:53.20; 43. Jorge Murillo, 24:57.50; 52. K.C. Cody, 25:17.30; 63. Chris Pecot, 25:38.80; 64. Chris Fuller, 25:39.40; 78. Keli Parker, 26:24.80; 83. Mark Lonac, 26:39.00; 89. Mario Mendoza, 27:38.10.
