Carmen Winant wasn’t expected to vie for the seventh spot
on the UCLA women’s cross country “˜A’ team. But
with her solid 15th place finish at the Triton Invitational in San
Diego on Saturday, the senior earned the final spot on the roster
for the Pre-NCAA meet next weekend in Terre Haute, Ind. By beating
out fellow team members Sarah West and Alejandra Barrientos at
Saturday’s race, Winant earned the right to travel with the
team to the prestigious meet that serves as a tune-up to the NCAA
Championship, to held at the same site Nov. 22. “We knew for
sure which six would go to Pre-Nationals,” coach Eric
Peterson said. “But both Winant and Barrientos needed another
race before Pre-Nationals.” West and Barrientos had been
considered the favorites for the last spot on the “˜A’
team, but Winant edged them out by six and eight seconds,
respectively. Last year, Winant was the Bruins’ No. 4 runner
at the NCAAs, and her finish at this race positions her to be place
high again this year. “Winant had a good, solid effort at San
Diego,” Peterson said, “so we’ll add her to the
mix at Pre-Nationals.” The rest of the team will include this
year’s consistent top performers: juniors Jenna Timinsky and
Allison Hall, sophomores Alison Costello and Ashley Caldwell, and
freshmen Monika Rothenburger and Olga Aulet-Leon. These seven
runners will also likely be the team UCLA fields at Nationals at
the end of the season. All of them sat out of the Triton
invitational, preferring to take the opportunity to train for the
upcoming meet. But even though many of UCLA’s top runners did
not race, San Diego provided an excellent opportunity for Peterson
to determine his strongest squad. In addition to the selection of
Winant for the seventh spot, Saturday’s meet gave many of the
team’s non-scoring runners an opportunity to compete. Senior
Lori Mann, juniors Leslie Barrie, Ashley Allen and Jenny Esser, and
freshman Claire Rethmeier all competed at the Triton Invitational.
As a whole, the squad finished third in team competition behind
Oklahoma State and Portland.
Men’s Cross Country: Senior Nick Thornton
was the lone competitor for the men’s cross country team at
the Triton Invitational. Without a deep enough pool for both an
“˜A’ and “˜B’ squad, the Bruins could not
send a full delegation to the meet. Peterson opted to have the
leading scorers train during the weekend in preparation for the
upcoming Pre-Nationals meet in Terre Haute, Ind., instead.