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	Vol.7, No 5, September 7, 1999
	Cross country team comes up short on 1st test By Andres Cardenas Daily Forty-Niner The cloudy sky and cool air was like the 49ers' first performance of the year -- just comfortable. The Long Beach State menís and women's cross-country teams did not run to their full potential since their strategy was to relax and get used to competition. UCLA took both the menís and women's team events, with Long Beach State placing fourth in the menís and fifth in the womenís at the California State Fullerton Cross Country Jammin Invitational at Carbon Canyon Park in Brea.  Coach Andy Sythe said he feels his teams ran below their potentials but feels confident about the rest of the season.   "I am very relaxed -- I have no negatives per se on this meet," Sythe said. "I do know we can run better."   UCLA won the menís team event with 44 points and the womenís with 18. James Nielsen of UC San Diego won the men's race, finishing the 8-kilometer race in 25 minutes and 16 seconds. The top male runner for LBSU was Larry Henderson, who finished in 25 minutes and 58 seconds. The 49er men finished with 98 points.   "It is what you do at the end of the season thatís important, not the beginning of the season," said LBSU runner Paul Couvrey, who was not too concerned about the team's performance.   For the women, the 5-kilometer race went to Elanie Canchola of UCLA with a time of 17 minutes and 41 seconds.  The top female runner for the 49ers was Monica MacManus with a time of 18 minutes and 38 seconds, a personal record for her at this event. The LBSU women finished with a total of 148.   Captain Kim Jackson said the womenís team needs to close the gap between the first team runner who crosses the line to the fifth team runner who crosses the line.   The results did not matter to Sythe. He just wanted his teams to learn how well they play against other schools, he said.   Injuries and conditioning are the main problems holding the 49ers back, several players said. Several 49ers are looking at red-shirting this year due to injury.  Since nothing can be done about the injuries, Sythe is looking at the conditioning. "We are going to focus on conditioning," Sythe said. "We are a little bit behind and need to be caught up, but we can do that.  There is not that much time to do it, so we got to be good at it [in] the next couple of weeks." The 49ersí next meet is scheduled to be Saturday in Huntington Beach. Sythe said he is unsure of whether the team will play that day. He may give his team another week off to be ready for the Aztec Invitational in San Diego on Sept. 18. He will make his decision later this week.		Student voice grows All-nighters endanger some Students need MMR shots to enroll Honor society opens doors to new members Maxson to appoint investigator to board University Police, athletic department available online Parents not laws must secure guns Bookstore policy bites students in wallet Limp Bizkit's sound critiqued Singin the Blues Volleyball team remains undefeated Coach looks for results from men's team Cross country teams come up short on 1st test Fall 99 ISSUES DAILY 49ER HOMEPAGE
Forty-Niner Publications, Department of Journalism, California State University, Long Beach ©1999 All rights reserved.