Oct. 27, 2007

Complete Women's Results in PDF Format
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Complete Men's Results in PDF Format
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SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif.-- The UC Davis women's and men's cross country teams finished 5th and 6th, respectively, in their first-ever Big West Conference Championships Saturday morning at the Fairbanks Cross Country Course. Junior Kim Conley led the women's squad for the fourth consecutive meet with a 15th-place showing while Patrick Parsel was the top finisher on the men's side (20th) for the third time in four meets.

Cal Poly claimed its fifth consecutive conference title in the men's eight kilometer race with a record point total of 15 as they claimed the top five spots. Phillip Reid earned his second straight individual title with a course-record time of 25:12.4. UC Santa Barbara won the women's title on the six kilometer course for the second straight season with 44 points. The Gauchos' Megan Lewis won the individual title in 26:19.0.

The UC Davis women's team had their five scorers finish in the top 35 to compile 136 points and finish three points ahead of Cal State Fullerton for fifth place.

"(The team) came up with their best effort of the season at the right time," said women's coach Deanne Vochatzer. "We didn't have as many as we would have liked up front, but we were able to run close together on an extremely tough course. We'll take a fifth-place finish at our very first conference meet. We get another shot in two weeks at regionals."

Conley was the top overall UC Davis finisher on the day as her time of 22:42.8 placed her 15th on the hilly course. Senior Lorin Scott concluded her first and only conference race as the team's No. 2 runner with a 24th-place time of 23:04.9.

Junior Kaitlin Gregg (30th, 23:19.6) , sophomore Brianna Larson (33rd, 23:25.2) and freshman Brittny Escamilla (34th, 23:39.5) all finished within four places of each other to round out the Aggie scorers. Gregg and Larson have now scored in every meet they've competed in this season.

The men's team scored 137 points to finish sixth, but were just three points off third-place UC Irvine and six points from fourth-place Long Beach State.

"It wasn't what we wanted, but being sixth and just a few points from fourth is not a bad finish," said men's coach Chris Puppione. "We showed some inexperience today. We started a little too fast, but I'd rather us dictate the lead early than lay back and let people walk over us. We still have regionals to look forward to in two weeks."

Parsel was the top finisher for the third time in four meets as he placed 20th in 26:33.2. Jonathan Peterson continued his strong freshman campaign as the team's No. 2 scorer with a 23rd-place time of 26:25.4.

Redshirt freshman Russ Pfaff contributed another solid scoring effort with his 31st-place finish (26:51.1) as did sophomore Thomas Dileo (37th, 27:09.8). Fellow redshirt freshman Kyle Suarez rounded out the scoring for the Aggies by finishing 39th in 27:14.8.

The cross country teams will take next week off before returning to action for the final time as a team at the NCAA West Regional meet in Eugene, Ore.

Big West Conference Championships
Fairbanks Cross Country Course October 27, 2007

WOMEN
Team scores: 1. UC Santa Barbara, 44; 2. UC Riverside, 57; 3. UC Irvine, 59; 4. Long Beach State, 93; 5. UC Davis, 136; 6. Cal State Fullerton, 139; 7. Cal Poly, 147; 8. Pacific, 258; 9. Cal State Northridge, 272.

Individual (Top finisher and UC Davis only): 1. Megan Lewis, UC Santa Barbara, 21:16.0... 15. Kim Conley, 22:42.8; 24. Lorin Scott, 23:04.9; 30. Kaitlin Gregg, 23:19.6; 33. Brianna Larson, 23:25.2; 34. Brittny Escamilla, 23:39.5; 42. Caitlin Fitzgerald, 23:56.2; 46. Alicia Ivanhoe, 24:09.1; 50. Ashley Harris, 24:19.4; 55. Alison Stoakley, 24:39.5.

MEN
Team scores: 1. Cal Poly, 15; 2. UC Santa Barbara, 53; 3. UC Riverside, 79; 4. Long Beach State, 134; 5. UC Irvine, 137; 6. UC Davis, 140; 7. Cal State Fullerton, 187; 8. Cal State Northridge, 240.

Individual (Top finisher and UC Davis only): 1. Phillip Reid, Cal Poly, 25:14... 20. Patrick Parsel, 26:33.2; 23. Jonathan Peterson, 26:25.4; 31. Russ Pfaff, 26:51.1; 37. Thomas Dileo, 27:09.8; 39. Kyle Suarez, 27:14.8; 42. Adalberto Corres, 27:26.8; 43. Ben DeLand, 27:27.9; 47. David Buscho, 27:35.3.