The UCLA women’s cross country team will head to San
Francisco to compete at the Pac-10 Championships this weekend in
hopes of a breakout performance to invigorate their season. Up to
this point, the Bruins have yet to perform their best. They fell
from eighth in the national ranking in the preseason to 26th in the
latest poll. But coach Eric Peterson maintains that his team is
primed for a break-out race. “This team has an enormous
amount of potential,” said Peterson. “We are ready for
a strong meet this weekend.” Part of the team’s
struggles this year have stemmed from the void left by All-American
Valerie Flores, who led the Bruins to a seventh place finish at the
NCAA Championships just a year ago. That was the program’s
best finish in school history since 1985, when the team placed
sixth. “No one has stepped forward like last year and
established themselves as a front runner,” said junior Jenna
Timinsky, one of the team’s top runners. “We
haven’t had a day where we’ve all ran to our
potential.” The Bruins will need to run to their full
potential and then some if they hope to finish first or second in
San Francisco. The overwhelming favorite is reigning NCAA champion
Stanford, who is currently ranked first. Peterson believes that his
team may be able to capture second, ahead of eighth-ranked Arizona
State. “If our girls can break up their main pack, we may
have a shot,” he said. “As long as we can put pressure
on them, it will bode well for (West Regionals).” Leading the
way for the Bruins will be sophomores Ashley Caldwell and Alison
Costello, an All-American last year, and juniors Timinsky and
Alejandra Barrientos. UCLA placed third a year ago on its way
towards earning an automatic berth into the NCAA Championships.
MEN’S CROSS COUNTRY: The UCLA men’s
team will try to improve upon last year’s disappointing
seventh place finish at the Pac-10 Championships. Peterson feels
that this year’s squad is in a great position to contend for
a top spot this weekend, and even for an NCAA at-large bid at the
West Regionals in two weeks. “In terms of running to their
potential, this team is right where it needs to be,” said
Peterson. A big reason for the enthusiasm has been the performance
of senior Jon Rankin, whom Peterson praised as running at an
All-American level. After being hampered by four separate stress
fractures since his sophomore year, Rankin is now free from injury
and has consistently been the team’s top runner this year.
“Those injuries really take a while to recover from and get
your rhythm back,” Rankin said. “Now I’m just
appreciative that I’m finally healthy, and hopefully I can
take advantage of it.” Rankin will look to finish in the top
ten this weekend and also sees this meet as an important race for
the team as a whole. “I know we’ve been as low as
seventh and eighth in the past,” he said. “But if we
can finish in the top four, that would be great. I know we are all
excited about this weekend; it should be a big step for us.”
As in the women’s race, the heavy favorite is defending NCAA
champion and second-ranked Stanford, followed by the strong
ninth-ranked Arizona State team. After that, there are no
guarantees. “We can finish anywhere from third to
seventh,” Peterson said. Rounding out the top Bruin runners
along with Rankin are seniors Erik Emilsson, Ben Aragon, junior
Nick De Felice, sophomore Austin Ramos and freshmen Mike Haddan and
Kyle Shackleton.