With the Pac-10 Championships only days away, the UCLA men’s and women’s cross country teams have taken time away from competition to recuperate and prepare for the meet in Oregon on Friday.
Originally the team was supposed to compete against Pepperdine in a dual meet last weekend, but the logistics were never sorted out.
Pepperdine coach Robert “Radnoti thought he had secured a golf course we would be able to use,” UCLA coach Eric Peterson said. “As time got away from everybody, it looked like it would be a tough thing to do. Plus, with it being a week before the Pac-10 Championships, we would be unlikely to run a complete team, which would make it kind of pointless. Our sights are set squarely on the Pac-10 meet.”
Both Bruin teams came back from their biggest test of the year, the Pre-National Invitational in Indiana on Oct. 18. The men placed fifth and the women came in 25th.
POLL VAULTING: After their impressive performance at pre-nationals two Sundays ago, the men’s team jumped from the No. 23 spot in the national polls to No. 13. In the regional rankings, UCLA kept hold of its No. 4 spot in the West. In the region, the Bruins are behind Oregon, Portland and Stanford.
“The national poll doesn’t really mean a lot in terms of qualifications ““ in fact, it’s the last criteria used,” Peterson said. “But it’s something everyone relates well to.”
Oregon is No. 1 in the country. Stanford, Oklahoma State, Portland and Alabama round out the top five. Interestingly, Stanford is No. 2 in the nation but voted No. 3 in its conference behind nationally No. 4 Portland.
UNDER THE WEATHER: Junior Lauren Jirges, redshirt sophomore Kelcie Wiemann and sophomore Shannon Murakami had been ill prior to the team’s last meet, but they still competed at pre-nationals.
Coach Peterson said all three trained the Monday after the meet but were given Tuesday and Wednesday off except for jogging and stretching lightly to recuperate.
They resumed training last weekend in preparation for the Pac-10 Championships.
BEST IN THE WEST: The Pac-10 boasts some of the strongest teams in the country as has traditionally been the case.
UCLA will have its hands full the next few weeks trying to get a berth to the NCAA Championships by getting past its conference opponents.
On the men’s side, five teams are ranked in the nation’s top 30: Oregon, Stanford, UCLA, California and Washington.
The women have four teams ranked that high: Washington, Oregon, Arizona State and Stanford.
In both polls, the Pac-10 has teams at No. 1 and No. 2.