Though the Bruins had just two runners competing at the NCAA
Cross Country Championships, UCLA was still very well
represented.
Juniors Ashley Caldwell and Austin Ramos both earned
All-American honors Monday in Terre Haute, Ind., as they were both
one of the top 30 American runners in their respective races.
Caldwell finished her race in a time of 20:13 over the
6,000-meter course, placing her among the most elite runners in the
country.
The time was good enough for 16th place overall, which is a huge
contrast to her 98th place showing just a year earlier.
“It was great to finish in the top 20 and return to the
same course from a year ago and finish so much higher,”
Caldwell said.
“To be among the elite runners is inspiring because I know
I have one more year on this course and next year I plan on being
in the top 10,” she said.
With the performance, Caldwell becomes only the second runner in
UCLA cross country history to earn two All-American honors, as she
also won the honor in 2003.
Caldwell also picked up All-American honors in the 800-meter
race in outdoor track.
“Ashley is becoming an old pro at this,” coach Eric
Peterson said. “She has competed at a championship level four
times now and has come away with All-American honors three of those
times.”
This race was also just the second time in eight years in which
the Bruin women did not compete as they failed to advance to the
Championships.
In his first championship appearance, Ramos more than held his
own. The junior finished in 48th place overall with a time of
30:27, which proved to be just enough to take home the prestigious
All-American title.
Ramos was the last runner to make the All-American cut,
finishing in 30th place among American runners.
“With Austin we had a very simple approach that we were
going to stick to no matter what,” Peterson said.
“We wanted to keep the strategy as simple as possible
since this was his first time at the NCAA Championships. I worried
about how he would handle his first championship experience, but he
did very well,” he said.
Ramos is the second consecutive Bruin to earn All-American
honors after UCLA graduate Jon Rankin’s performance last
year, and just the fourth UCLA cross country runner to earn the
award since 1986.