No. 20 Cal Men Set For First NCAA Championships :: Cal men look for strong finish to 2007 campaign

Nov. 14, 2007

BERKELEY -

CAL HEADS TO NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS: The No. 20 California men's cross country team heads to the NCAA championships Monday, Nov. 19, at the LaVern Gibson Championships Course on the campus of Indiana State. The race starts at 9 a.m. (PT). The Golden Bears will be competing as a team for the first time in school history at the national meet. Cal was among 12 other teams that earned one of the at-large bids to the 31-team, 255-runner men's and women's NCAA fields.

THE BEARS' LINEUP: The men's race features David Torrence, Mark Matusak, Kari Karlsson, Yosef Ghebray, Chris Chavez, Michael Coe and Eric Lee.

THE COMPETITION: Oregon is currently No. 1 with 390 points in the men's U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCA) rankings. Following the top-ranked Ducks is No. 2 Colorado, No. 3 Iona, No. 4 UTEP and No. 5 Wisconsin. The Bears are third among Pac-10 teams with a current ranking of 20th. Familiar Pac-10 foes include, Stanford is No. 13 and Arizona State is 30th. Oregon and Portland received the automatic berths in the west region, while Cal, Stanford and Arizona State all received at-large bids.

CAL MEN TAKE FOURTH AT NCAA WEST REGIONAL: Three Cal runners (Yosef Ghebray, Mark Matusak, David Torrence) finished in the top 15, as the Bears placed fourth overall with 112 points at the NCAA West Regional last Saturday at the Springfield Country Club, in Eugene, Ore. The fourth-place showing tied for the best finish in school history, as the men's team also took fourth in 1989 and 1981. Ghebray paced the Bears in eighth, touring the course in 30:14.55. Torrence finished right behind Ghebray in ninth at 30:19.00. Matusak took 11th with a time of 30:22.95.

GHEBRAY, TORRENCE AND MATUSAK MAKE ALL-WEST REGION TEAM: Cal's top three runners, Yosef Ghebray, Mark Matusak and David Torrence were all selected to the NCAA's All-West Region team. Ghebray paced Cal in the West Regional and the Pac-10 championships, while Torrence led Cal at the Stanford Invitational and the Pre-NCAA meet.

TORRENCE AT LAST YEAR'S NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS: The national scene is a familiar one for David Torrence. Torrence competed in the 2006 NCAA championships, qualifying as an individual. He placed 92nd (32.31.2) out of 250 runners. Last year's national-championship race was held at the same location as this year's meet. Torrence qualified for the championships after crossing the line in 13th (30:34.99) at the NCAA West Regional.

CAL MEN TAKE FIFTH AT PRE-NCAAS, EARN NO. 8 RANKING: The Cal men reached their highest ranking in school history after finishing third in the blue race and fifth overall at the Pre-NCAA meet on Oct. 13. The Bears, who earned an eighth-place ranking, had four runners finish in the top 30, with David Torrence pacing Cal in 16th. Michael Coe, Mark Matusak and Yosef Ghebray were the other runners to help the Bears achieve their top-10 ranking.