Oct. 26, 2004

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This Week: The men's and women's cross country teams will compete in the West Coast Conference Championships on Saturday, October 30 at Crystal Springs in Belmont, CA. This will mark the 21st consecutive year that the meet has been held at the Crystal Springs course. The race could mark the last collegiate race for five Saint Mary's harriers.

Parsel Aims for All-Conference Honors: Senior Andrew Parsel looks to become the first Saint Mary's men's runner to finish in the top ten since Enrique Hernriquez accomplished the feat in the 1999 championships. In that race, Henriquez placed sixth overall and led his team to a second place finish.

Scouting the Competition: The Portland Pilots have had a stranglehold on the WCC Championship trophy. The Pilot men's team has won an unprecedented 25-straight titles, while the Portland women have garnered 14 titles, including last years championship.

Going into the meet, Gonzaga sports the three fastest runners in the conference on the men's side. Ryan Anderson, Joe Miller and Joe Manning all eclipsed the 25-minute barrier when they ran times of 24:41, 24:45 and 24:54 at the Willamette Invite. Of the 10 top times run by WCC harriers this season, the Pilots possess four of them.

In the women's race, San Diego's Tiffanie Marley, the defending WCC Champion, heads the pack with a 5k time of 17:41. That time was also ran at the Willamette Invite. Teammate Cassandra Chavez closely follows with a 17:52. San Francisco looks to make some noise as well, as three different runners possess top 10 times this season.

Participating Teams: Portland, Gonzaga, USF, Santa Clara, USD, LMU, Pepperdine.

Last Meet: The Saint Mary's men's and women's cross country teams finished with their best results of the season in their last race after both teams finished second overall at the Mills Invitational on October 15.

Senior Andrew Parsel and Evelyn Bocanegra once again paced the Gaels. On the tough 8k course, Parsel finished with a 27:28. Bocanegra completed the 5k course in a time of 20:36. The race marks the fifth time this season that the duo has led the Gaels.

Next Race: Depending on the results, Saint Mary's will send individuals to the NCAA West Regional Championships. The race is slated for November 13 at Woodward Park in Fresno CA.