Oct. 28, 2002

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MEN'S RACE (34th annual) ... The MONDO Top-25 (Oct. 22) includes No. 1 STANFORD, No. 5 OREGON and No. 25 ARIZONA STATE ... Stanford has won five of the last six championships and should be the early favorite. The Cardinal have won its first five meets of the season, including the recent Pre-NCAA meet in Terre Haute, Ind., behind strong performances from a trio of juniors in Dan Dobson, Grant Robison and Donald Sage. Oregon All-American senior Jason Hartmann will keep the Ducks in the hunt for the title, along with sophomore Ryan Andrus and junior Bret Holts. Arizona State will look for its first Pac-10 title behind two-time All-American senior Fasil Bizuneh and sophomore JJ Duke. WASHINGTON also received votes in the MONDO Top-25 poll. Leading the Husky charge will be junior Eric Garner and freshman Todd Arnold. Others to watch at the championships include ARIZONA juniors Mark Anderson and Eric Bohn; CALIFORNIA senior Martin Conrad and junior Carlos Carballo; UCLA sophomores Ben Aragon and Erik Emilsson; WASHINGTON STATE junior Ian Johnson and sophomore Dan Wolf.

WOMEN'S RACE (17th annual) ... Four Pac-10 women's teams grace the latest FinishLynx Top-25 (Oct. 21). Defending Pac-10 champion STANFORD sits at No. 2, followed by No. 17 ARIZONA STATE, No. 19 UCLA and No. 25 WASHINGTON. The Cardinal look for their seventh consecutive title, and ninth in 10 years, behind senior Lauren Fleshman, and sophomores Sara Bei and Alicia Craig. Fleshman and Bei finished one-two at last year's Pac-10 meet. A young lineup has guided Arizona State in various meet action this season, led by freshmen Jessica Scalzo, Amy Hastings and sophomore Amanda Lyon. UCLA hopes to work the home course to its advantage with junior Lena Nilsson and sophomore Alejandra Barrientos leading the way. Senior Courtney Inman and sophomore Lindsey Egerdahl will pace Washington. Others to keep an eye on at the championships include ARIZONA junior Beth Hoge and senior Nicole Gurnicz; CALIFORNIA sophomore Abby Parker and freshman Bridget Duffy; OREGON senior Carrie Zografos and junior Laura Harmon, USC junior Brooke Thomas and sophomore Danielle Morrell; and WASHINGTON STATE juniors Anna Blue and Ana Cabrera.

THE COURSE . . . The men's course will cover 8,000 meters at the Brookside Country Club, Pasadena, Calif. The women, meanwhile, will run a course of 6,000 meters. The terrain for both the men's course and women's course will be mainly flat and include mostly grass, as well as small patches of dirt and light gravel.

Pacific-10 Cross Country Championships

When: Saturday, November 2, 2002

Where: Brookside Country Club, Pasadena, Calif.

Race Times: Women - 9:30 a.m.; Men - 10:30 a.m.

LAST YEAR . . . In the men's race, STANFORD captured its fifth Pac-10 title in six years with an impressive 47-point margin of victory as the Cardinal placed their five scoring runners among the top seven finishers. Stanford sophomore Grant Robison claimed individual honors with a clocking of 24:04.0 over the Pavilion Lakes Golf Club in Scottsdale, Ariz. Sophomore teammate Donald Sage finished third. At the NCAA Championships, Sage was the Conference's top finisher, placing seventh. For his efforts, Sage was named the Pac-10 Cross Country Athlete of the Year.

Stanford won its sixth consecutive Pac-10 women's title and eighth Championship in the last nine years with a 37-point margin of victory over ARIZONA. Junior Lauren Fleshman topped the field with a time of 20:08.1. Freshman teammate Sara Bei came in second. Arizona turned the tables on the Cardinal at the NCAA Championships with a fourth place showing, one spot ahead of Stanford. Arizona's Tara Chaplin, the Pac-10 Women's Cross Country Athlete of the Year, captured the individual title at the NCAA Championships.

2001 PAC-10 CHAMPIONSHIP RESULTS

MEN - Team Results
1. Stanford 28
2. Arizona State 75
3. Oregon 78
4. Arizona 96
5. Washington 102
6. UCLA 148
7. Washington State 163
8. California 192

WOMEN - Team Results 1. Stanford 27
2. Arizona 64
3. Arizona State 79
4. UCLA 107
5. Washington 109
6. Washington State 155
7. USC 168
8. Oregon 210
9. California 259

MEN - Top-5 Individuals
1. Grant Robison, STAN 24:04.0
2. Fasil Bizuneh, ASU 24:06.4
3. Donald Sage, STAN 24:11.4
4. Jason Fayant, WASH 24:17.7
5. Ian Dobson, STAN 24:26.3

WOMEN Top-5 Individuals
1. Lauren Fleshman, STAN 20:08.1
2. Sara Bei, STAN 20:17.4
3. Tara Chaplin, ARIZ 20:19.6
4. Everlyn Lagat, WSU 20:48.0
5. Alicia Craig, STAN 20:56.0

PREVIOUS CHAMPIONS (since 1991)

Year Men Individual
2001 Stanford Grant Robison, STAN
2000 Stanford Jonathon Riley, STAN
1999 Arizona Steve Fein, ORE
1998 Stanford Abdi Abdirahman, ARIZ
1997 Stanford Bernard Lagat, WSU
1996 Stanford Mebrahtom Keflezighi, UCLA
1995 Oregon Karl Keska, ORE
1994 Arizona Martin Keino, ARIZ
1993 Washington Josephat Kapkory, WSU
1992 Oregon Josephat Kapkory, WSU
1991 Arizona Colin Dalton, ORE

Year Women Individual
2001 Stanford Lauren Fleshman, STAN
2000 Stanford Tara Chaplin, ARIZ
1999 Stanford Erin Sullivan, STAN
1998 Stanford Amy Skieresz, ARIZ
1997 Stanford Amy Skieresz, ARIZ
1996 Stanford Amy Skieresz, ARIZ
1995 Oregon Amy Skieresz, ARIZ
1994 Stanford Karen Hecox, UCLA
1993 Stanford Karen Hecox, UCLA
1992 Oregon Nicole Woodward, ORE
1991 Oregon Lisa Karnopp, ORE

WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE? . . . STANFORD will host the NCAA West Regional Championships Saturday, Nov. 16, while the NCAA Championships will be Monday, Nov. 25 in Terre Haute, Ind.

NEXT YEAR . . . Washington State will host the 2003 Pac-10 Cross Country Championships.

2002 PAC-10 CROSS COUNTRY CHAMPIONSHIPS RESULTS . . . Following the championships, final results for the men's and women's races will be available on the UCLA web site (www.uclabruins.com) and the Pac-10 web site (www.pac-10.org).