Although it may seem like the women’s cross country team
just barely squeaked into the NCAA Championships, coach Eric
Peterson knew all season long that this is where his squad would
finish its season.
Despite their rather disappointing sixth-place finish last
Saturday at the West Regionals, the Bruins had enough success
during the season to earn their fourth consecutive trip the
championship meet, which takes place Monday in Terra Haute,
Ind.
“Had we not qualified for the championships, we would be
underachievers,” Peterson said. “Collectively, we feel
as though we have not put together a race that matches our
preseason expectations.”
The Bruins have slid from seventh in the national preseason
polls and are now unranked. That ranking stemmed largely from an
impressive performance at last year’s championship meet,
where the Bruins finished seventh.
However, that team was led by three All-Americans, and two of
them, Valerie Flores and Melissa McBain, did not have any years of
eligibility remaining. That left sophomore Ashley Caldwell as the
only returning All-American on the team.
Although sophomore Alison Costello has led the Bruins most of
the season, the team has still lacked a true front-runner to set
the tone for the team. However, although they do not have a
breakout star, the team’s depth has been its greatest
asset.
“Our small gap between our first and fifth runner has been
our strength all season long,” Peterson said. “That is,
in fact, what got us to the championships. We certainly don’t
want to get away from that, but we wouldn’t mind at all for
the runners that are capable to have breakout races and still have
the tail-end of this team maintain their level of
performance.”
But Peterson believes a healthy team will be able to make up
ground. They will welcome back freshman Monika Rothenburger, who
missed last week’s meet due to a back injury, which should
boost the team’s arsenal come Monday.
“If the kids that can breakout, we’ll be in the top
20,” Peterson said. “If they don’t, we run a
typical race like we have over the past couple races. We’ll
be in the battle of our lives to stay in the top 25.”
RANKIN TO RACE: Senior Jon Rankin is finally primed to make a
statement in his first NCAA Championship appearance. The statement:
that he is one of the nation’s top cross-country runners.
Rankin will attempt to become the first UCLA men’s
All-American in cross country in six years this Monday in Terra
Haute, Ind., the site of this year’s NCAA Championship meet.
All he will have to do to earn All-American honors is finish among
the top 25 runners.
Rankin has put himself in a excellent position to achieve this
goal as evidenced by his sixth-place finish last Saturday at the
Western Region Championships, which earned him All-West Region
honors.
“Jon is running just as well as anybody in America right
now,” says Peterson.
“He’s worked very hard to put himself in this
position and to earn the right to compete in the meet. He is taking
this opportunity very seriously.”
Should Rankin finish in the top 25, he would be the first Bruin
to earn the honor since Mark Hauser in 1998.
“Being an All-American is a huge deal,” Rankin said.
“I just want to go out there and represent UCLA. I’m
eager to get out and prove to myself that I can run with the best
in the country in the most challenging situation.”