University of Washington
Pre-National Meet
Mandi Leads UW to 14th at Pre-National Meet
October 16, 2004 | Cross Country
Oct. 16, 2004
TERRE HAUTE, Ind. - Led by the 14th-place finish of junior co-captain Mark Mandi, Washington's 28th-ranked men's cross country team ran 14th Saturday in the men's Blue Race at the Pre-National Meet in Terre Haute, Ind., site of next month's NCAA Cross Country Championships. The meet featured 23 of the nation¹s top-30 men's teams, and 22 of the top 30 women's squads, evenly seeded into two races each. The Husky women placed 16th in the women's White Race.
Everett native Mandi, who earned his first cross country victory earlier this season, torched the five-mile, 8,000-meter LaVerne Gibson Championship course in 24 minutes, 25 seconds, just under a 5-minute per-mile pace. Mandi was followed 33 seconds later by sophomore Travis Boyd, whose time of 24:58 earned the Mukilteo native a 69th-place finish. In all, Washington placed four runners among the top-100 finishers in the race for a team total of 378 points that was 14th-lowest overall, and was just 37 points out of 10th.
Sixth-ranked Colorado earned the Blue Race victory with 63 points, well outdistancing the 165 of No. 11 Cal Poly SLO, the Blue Race runner-up. It was New Mexico¹s Matt Gonzalez, however, who earned the individual crown in 23:48, establishing himself as an early favorite for the NCAA Championship, to be held on this same LaVerne Gibson Championship Course next month. Second-ranked Stanford won the men's White Race, held after the Blue Race, scoring 77 points.
"I thought Mark ran a great race," said eighth-year head coach Greg Metcalf. "It's exciting to me to see that even with two of our top runners, Carl Moe and Mike Sayenko, out with injuries, we can still come to this race and finish 40 points out of the top-10. A lot of young guys are getting a chance to step up for us right now, which is only going to make us better down the road."
Washington's women, meanwhile, matched their finish at the 2003 Pre-National Meet in Waterloo, Iowa, with a 16th-place effort Saturday in the White Race, their 479 points well off the winning pace of 94 set by No. 4 Colorado. The Buffaloes' Renee Metevier led all finishers through the 6,000-meter Championship course in 20:04, 12 seconds ahead of runner-up Ida Nilsson of Northern Arizona. Stanford's top-ranked women, who will defend their 2003 NCAA title in Terre Haute next month, captured the Blue Race title to remain undefeated in 2004.
Seeking to extend the nation's seventh-longest active streak of NCAA Championships appearances to eight consecutive years, the UW women used Saturday's meet as a chance to preview the NCAA course, and to evaluate what is anticipated to be a strong top-seven.
Sophomore Dallon Williams beat senior Lindsey Egerdahl to the line by just seven tenths of a second to become the fourth Husky to lead the UW women in as many races this season. Williams and Egerdahl earned 45th and 46th place, respectively, with official times of 21:29 and 21:30 that were the fastest of their UW careers.
It was nearly a minute back to the Huskies' third runner, however, with senior Angela Wishaar coming through the finish line 116th, in 22:22, just two seconds faster than sophomore Kira Harrison, who placed 125th.
"Last year, our women finished 16th at Pre-Nationals, and then ran 19th at the NCAA Championships," Metcalf said. "To do that again, it's going to take a whole team effort. The Regional meet is just one month away, so we have to get after it in practice every day."
Washington, which also had runners at the Jim Danner Invitational in Portland on Saturday (results not available as of this posting), will return to the course in two weeks for the Pac-10 Championships, in Berkeley, Calif. For complete results of the Pre-National Meet, visit http://indstate.athletics.edu.
Pre-National Meet
Oct. 16, 2004
Terre Haute, Ind.
LaVerne Gibson Championship Course
Men's Blue Race (8,000m)
Top-10 Teams:
Individual Champion: Matt Gonzales, New Mexico, 23:48
Husky Finishers: 14. Mark Mandi, 24:25; 69. Travis Boyd, 24:58; 86. Jeremy Mineau, 25:10; 91. Andy Fader, 25:12; 121. Brad Liber, 25:28; 147. Jon Hickey, 25:44; 153. Matt Owen, 25:7.
Women's White Race (6,000m)
Top-10 Teams: 1. Colorado 94; 2. Michigan 109; 3. Arizona State 187; 4. N.C. State 207; 5. Michigan State 218; 6. Tennessee 221; 7. Villanova 236; 8. UC Santa Barbara 270; 9. Wake Forest 280; 10. Colorado State 340; 16. Washington 479.
Individual Champion: Renee Metevier, Colorado, 20:04
Husky Finishers: 45. Dallon Williams, 21:29; 46. Lindsey Egerdahl, 21:30; 116. Angela Wishaar, 22:22; 125. Kira Harrison, 22:25; 147. Brianna McLeod, 22:38; 166. Marie Foushee, 22:55; 217. Jamie Gibbs, 23:40.
