Sept. 21, 2002
Results
DAVIS, Calif. - Senior Ann Glenn finished fifth to pace the Aggie women, while Steve Laurie was sixth overall for the men, highlighting UC Davis' action at the 32nd annual Aggie Cross Country Open on Saturday morning at Recreation Hall.
Teresa McWalters, a 17-year-old racing with Impalas, was the women's winner, covering the 5,000-meter course in 17 minutes, 54.20 seconds. UC Davis, however, placed five runners in the top 16 and captured the team title with just 44 points.
Former UC Davis All-American Nate Bowen, racing with the Nike Farm Team, was the winner in the men's 8,000-meter race in 24:37.50, edging Konrad Knutsen of Adidas Transport by a second. Adidas, however, had three of the top five runners to win the team title with 27 points. UC Davis was the top collegiate squad, scoring 39 points to place second overall.
McWalters beat Rachel Cook for top honors in the women's race with Cook finishing second in 17:56.80. Former UC Davis All-American Heather Gibson was third in 18:03.40, while Saint Mary's Allegra Porter was fourth in 18:05.20.
Glenn led the UC Davis charge, taking fifth overall. Teammate Sopagna Eap was eighth in 18:25.80, freshman Michelle Solone was 13th in 18:41.70, freshman Kelsey Kaiser was 15th in 18:46.00 and freshman Laura Sharp was 16th in 18:47.60. Two other freshman - Karine Graham and Priscilla Moreno - were 19th and 20th, respectively, for UC Davis.
"We like to win our home meet," said UC Davis Coach Sue Williams. "Ann took a big step forward and took the rest of the team with her. Sopagna had an aggressive race and some freshman also had good races to help us pack well. This was a good step forward for and we look forward to having the team at full strength."
Aggies Jessica Neu and Laura Cherdack did not race due to injuries.
Bowen won the Aggie Open for the first time in his career, beating Knutsen across the line. Bowen, a 1997 All-America for UC Davis was one of several UC Davis alumni to have strong races. Ryan Miller, an All-American last year and current Aggies' assistant coach, was fourth in 24:46.70, and 1996 All-American Mark McManus was fifth in 24:55.70.
"We hoped to win the men's race, but some of our own alumni teamed up to beat us," said Williams.
McManus and alum Max Rodriguez both raced with Adidas.
Laurie was the first of the current Aggies across the line on Saturday, taking sixth in 25:19.80, four seconds ahead of teammate Jak Kuehn, who was seventh in 25:23.70. Matt Laye was 11th in 25:38.80, Steve Fairclough was 12th in 25:41.50 and Justin Rau was 14th in 25:48.90, completing a quintet of Aggie finishers in the top 14.
Tim Helms placed 18th overall for the Aggies and Jonathan Gire was 25th, rounding out the top seven UC Davis runners.
"The men raced well," said Williams. "We had a good pack and good depth. A couple of guys had particularly good races. Steve Laurie had a much better race than last week and Steve Fairclough stepped forward. This was our hardest training of the season."
The fields were among the largest ever for the meet, which features both collegiate and open runners. A total of 168 women competed, while 191 finished on the men's side.
UC Davis returns to action next Saturday at the Stanford Invitational.
