Cross country heads to Portland for Regionals
Eight runners hope to rebound from disappointing finish at Pac-10s, qualify for NCAA meet
Sean McLean
Issue date: 11/9/06 Section: Sports
After a two-week break from competitive running, the OSU cross country team will return to action this weekend at the NCAA West Regional in Portland.
In perhaps their final race of the season, the Beavers will race against all the schools from the Pacific-10 and other Division-I schools on the West Coast. To qualify for the national championship race in Terre Haute, Ind., the Beavers must finish as one of the top two teams this weekend. The top 30 individuals also will qualify for the NCAA meet, which will be hosted by Indiana University on Nov. 20.
"We are going to be up against some great teams, so it will be a great opportunity for the ladies," coach Kelly Sullivan said. "We didn't want to leave the Pac-10 meet having people think this is as good as Oregon State is, so the focus on this meet is there."
Oregon State is coming off an eighth place team finish that was disappointing to the ten-deep varsity squad, who also finished eighth as a team the previous year. Kaitlin Poggi led the Beavers with a 30th place individual finish. The junior placed ten spots higher than the Beavers' number two runner, Neoma Palmer. Both have been - along with former Beaver runner Ashley Younce - the top OSU finishers at the Pac-10 Championships since the program was reinstated three years ago.
Sullivan thinks his team will be ready to run and will be heavily focused for this weekend's race.
"Based off the fact that we missed improving on last season by one spot, the girls knew they had another race to prove what they are really capable of," Sullivan said.
"We were chasing people down at the Pac-10 meet for whatever reason, so hopefully at the Regional meet we'll be in the hunt like we have been doing at prior meets."
The Beavers, ranked ninth in the latest West Region Poll, have been ranked the majority of the fall due to one of the best seasons in school history. Also for the first time in school history, the program has won three invitational meets. OSU has taken home top honors at the Chuck Bowles Invitational, the Cal Poly Invitational and the Beaver Classic.
With the success the Beavers have had this year, Sullivan has also indicated that the focus of this weekend's race will be to improve on the Pac-10 Championship race.
"We were disappointed because we were eighth in the Pac-10," Sullivan said. "But we were disappointed because we knew we could run better, and we've shown that this year in our races and I know the girls will be ready to run at the Regional meet."
Sullivan will run just eight women compared to the ten he ran at the Pac-10 Championships. The race will be a 6,000-meter course like the Pac-10 Championships. It will begin at 11 a.m. on Saturday at Blue Lake Park in Portland, which also hosted the Regional meet in 2003 and has been a popular place to host cross country races because it provides easy viewing access for fans.
In perhaps their final race of the season, the Beavers will race against all the schools from the Pacific-10 and other Division-I schools on the West Coast. To qualify for the national championship race in Terre Haute, Ind., the Beavers must finish as one of the top two teams this weekend. The top 30 individuals also will qualify for the NCAA meet, which will be hosted by Indiana University on Nov. 20.
"We are going to be up against some great teams, so it will be a great opportunity for the ladies," coach Kelly Sullivan said. "We didn't want to leave the Pac-10 meet having people think this is as good as Oregon State is, so the focus on this meet is there."
Oregon State is coming off an eighth place team finish that was disappointing to the ten-deep varsity squad, who also finished eighth as a team the previous year. Kaitlin Poggi led the Beavers with a 30th place individual finish. The junior placed ten spots higher than the Beavers' number two runner, Neoma Palmer. Both have been - along with former Beaver runner Ashley Younce - the top OSU finishers at the Pac-10 Championships since the program was reinstated three years ago.
Sullivan thinks his team will be ready to run and will be heavily focused for this weekend's race.
"Based off the fact that we missed improving on last season by one spot, the girls knew they had another race to prove what they are really capable of," Sullivan said.
"We were chasing people down at the Pac-10 meet for whatever reason, so hopefully at the Regional meet we'll be in the hunt like we have been doing at prior meets."
The Beavers, ranked ninth in the latest West Region Poll, have been ranked the majority of the fall due to one of the best seasons in school history. Also for the first time in school history, the program has won three invitational meets. OSU has taken home top honors at the Chuck Bowles Invitational, the Cal Poly Invitational and the Beaver Classic.
With the success the Beavers have had this year, Sullivan has also indicated that the focus of this weekend's race will be to improve on the Pac-10 Championship race.
"We were disappointed because we were eighth in the Pac-10," Sullivan said. "But we were disappointed because we knew we could run better, and we've shown that this year in our races and I know the girls will be ready to run at the Regional meet."
Sullivan will run just eight women compared to the ten he ran at the Pac-10 Championships. The race will be a 6,000-meter course like the Pac-10 Championships. It will begin at 11 a.m. on Saturday at Blue Lake Park in Portland, which also hosted the Regional meet in 2003 and has been a popular place to host cross country races because it provides easy viewing access for fans.
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