Promising
season ahead for cross country
Cross
Country: Hopes are high as men's and women's
teams have depth, experience, young talent
and perhaps the best teams Long Beach State
has had in many years.
By
Andrew Conway
On-line Forty-Niner
The
men's and women's cross country teams are
both running well and looking forward to
perhaps their best seasons in many years.
The
past two cross country meets have not only
proven to be impressive team efforts, demonstrating
progressive improvement, but have also served
as a showcase for individual triumph.
Building
off the momentum of the team's first performance,
The Beach took it up a notch in Palo Alto.
The men finished ninth of 22 teams and the
women concluded the day 13th of the 26 teams.
"On
the guys' side, this is one of the best
teams we've had in maybe 20 years,"
second-year cross country head coach Geoff
Masanet said.
Leading
the men was junior Terrance Wroblewski,
who finished 20th out of 175 runners, escalating
his time into the number five spot in the
Long Beach State all-time list.
"[Wroblewski's]
a tough guy, he gets to the point where
he's hurting and he can keep going,"
Masanet said. "He wasn't very fast
in high school but he is a hard worker and
he really makes the sacrifice to succeed."
Wroblewski's
time of 24:45 was the best time for an LBSU
runner since the '80s. Teammate Brian Stehmeier
finished 49th overall with a time of 25:45.
The
women were led, once again, by freshman
sensation Nicole Blalock. She ran a 22:23,
landing her a 29th place finish and a freshman-class
record.
"She
is running as one the best dog gone freshman
in the country," Masanet said.
Meanwhile,
junior Crystal Roethlisberger countinues
to impress, notching a 40th place finish
with a time of 22:39.
Masanet
is confindent in this year's women's team,
saying that when Jenny Yadon returns to
the team that her, Roethlisberger and Blalock
may form the best 1-2-3 punch the school's
team has had in many years.
In
another successful meet, the Long Beach
State cross country team participated in
the UCR Invitational Sept. 20, which was
the first of the two meets. In a strong
showing, the women finished sixth (149 points)
of 14 teams, while the men (241 points)
finished eighth of 29 teams.
Five
49ers finished the day with lifetime bests,
including sophomore Arturo Garcia, who posted
a 25:11.10. That number was good enough
to move his time into the Long Beach State
all-time top-ten list for the first time
in his career and was also the best time
ever posted by a 49er runner on that course.
Garcia finished 26th overall in the race.
Senior
Cory Martin and junior Kenny Lawrence also
set personal records. Martin's time of 25:27.60
was the second fastest time by a male 49er
on the Riverside course, while Kenny Lawrence's
time of 25:53.90 was the fifth fastest all-time
for that course.
On
the women's side, Blalock led the way, finishing
14th overall with a time of 18:15.00. Right
behind Blalock was Roethlisberger, who finished
with a time of 18:25.20, which was her best.
Senior
Diane Mendoza also had a strong performance,
recording a time of 19:00.30, cutting nearly
15 seconds off her previous best.
The
49ers will run again on Oct. 10 at the Arizona
State Invitational.
"On
the guys' side, this is one of the best
teams we've had in maybe 20 years."
-- Geoff Masanet,
head coach
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