W. CROSS COUNTRY All Weekend Pac-10
Championships Palo Alto
Injuries, illness and setbacks. These have been the theme of
this year’s women’s cross country team. But despite its
misfortunes, UCLA still has an opportunity to make a run to the
NCAA Championships.
The UCLA women’s cross country team will compete in the
Pac-10 Championships this Saturday to open up postseason action.
Though the conference features two of the most heralded teams in
the nation in Stanford and Arizona State, after them the field is
much more muddled, leaving room for the Bruins to jump up to as
high as third place this weekend, should the team be hitting on all
cylinders.
“We really feel that behind those two teams that the
opportunity to finish in the top three is wide open,” coach
Eric Peterson said. “We match up really well with the rest of
the teams in our conference.”
The women have had to deal with numerous setbacks to a variety
of key runners such as junior Claire Rethmeier, who has been
battling a foot injury, as well as redshirt senior Jenna Timinsky,
who was battling illness during the bulk of the season. But
according to Peterson, the ill luck is behind the Bruins, as the
team is as healthy as it has been all year.
“We seemed to have recovered nicely from all of the
illnesses we have suffered during the season,” Peterson said.
“This is the strongest team we have put out there up to this
point, and I feel very confident with the progression this team has
been showing in their workouts.”
For the Bruins to stay competitive in the highly talented Pac-10
meet, they will need season-best efforts from many core runners, as
senior Ashley Caldwell and redshirt sophomore Allie Bohannon will
undoubtedly be setting the pace from the front of the pack.
“Once you get to the postseason, you have to leave it all
on the course,” Caldwell said. “It is not so much about
strategic planning. I think everyone is really willing to push
themselves individually more, (without) having to rely on a
group.”
This meet will be very telling as to whether the team has enough
left in its tank to secure a berth to the NCAA Championships, as it
still has work to do in the committee’s eyes if it wants to
receive an at-large bid.
“It is pretty crucial; our conference is very
competitive,” Caldwell said. “If we can run with teams
like Stanford and Arizona State, I think that really says a lot
about this team.”