Nov. 22, 2004
Terre Haute, Ind. - The powerful Stanford men's and women's cross country teams fell short in their respective attempts to each capture a second consecutive national title at the 2004 NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships Monday on a muddy Laverne Gibson Championship Cross Country Course. The women's squad finished fifth with a point total of 175, while the men's team was sixth with 269 points.
Colorado swept the team titles, scoring 90 points in the men's event to edge Wisconsin (94) and 63 on the women's side to easily outdistance second-place Duke (144). It marks the second national crown for both the Buffalo men and women. Providence senior Kate Smith captured first-place in the women's race with a time of 20:10, while Wisconsin's Simon Bairu won the men's event in 30:38.
Senior Alicia Craig was Stanford's top finisher in the women's 6000 meter race, logging a time of 21:03 to come in 26th overall. Redshirt freshman Teresa McWalters was the second Cardinal finisher with a 46th place showing in a time of 21:18 and was immediately followed by senior Anita Siraki in 47th at 21:19. Sophomores Amanda and Katy Trotter rounded out the Cardinal scoring with efforts of 21:32 and 21:43 to finish and 60th and 74th, respectively. Senior Jeane Goff registered a time of 21:58 to finish 102nd overall and freshman Lauren Centrowitz was the final Cardinal runner to cross the finish line with a time of 22:32 to take 167th overall.
"We didn't perform the way we expected to," admitted Craig. "Things didn't seem together for us, but we're not discouraged. We just need to regain focus and figure out what went wrong today."
In the men's 10,000 meter race, freshman Neftalem Araia led the way with a showing of 31:05 to finish eighth. Senior Ryan Hall notched a 26th-place finish with a time of 31:35, while senior Chris Emme finished 65th in 32:13. Sophomore Jon Pierce recorded a mark of 32:52 to take 124th and sophomore Brett Gotcher crossed the finish line at 33:00 for a 138th place showing to complete Stanford's scoring efforts. Junior David Vidal (198th, 33.38) and sophomore Peter Meindl (206th, 33:45) also competed for the Cardinal.
"We had an average day and in tough conditions like today, you have to be at the top of your game," commented Stanford men's cross country head coach Andrew Gerard. "We're an inexperienced team and that lack of experience really showed today."
The two team finishes were the lowest for Cardinal harriers since 1995 when the men's squad was fifth and the women placed ninth.
"The muddy conditions slowed people down," added Craig. "But, it didn't effect us more than anyone else. All of the teams had to race in the same conditions."
WOMEN'S 6000 METERS
COMPLETE TEAM RESULTS
1. Colorado 63, 2. Duke 144, 3. Providence 164, 4. Notre Dame 170, 5. Stanford 175, 6. Michigan 246, 7. Villanova 277, 8. Brigham Young 293, 9. Arizona State 333, 10. North Carolina 336, 11. Missouri 346, 12. North Carolina State 364, 13. Columbia 365, 14. Michigan State 372, 15. West Virginia 388, 16. Arkansas 400, 17. UC Santa Barbara 410, 18. Princeton 417, 19. Wake Forest 434, 20. Illinois 443, 21. Tennessee 488, 22. Southern Methodist 519, 23. Washington 533, 24. Georgia 583, 25. Idaho 607, 26. Colorado State 635, 27. UCLA 640, 28. Marquette 650, 29. Baylor 675, 30. Indiana 700, 31. Butler 859
WINNER AND ALL STANFORD RUNNERS ONLY
1. Kim Smith (Providence) 20:08.5, 26. Alicia Craig 21:02.8, 46. Teresa McWalters 21:17.2, 47. Anita Siraki 21:18.7, 60. Katy Trotter 21:31.2, 74. Amanda Trotter 21:42.6, 102. Jeane Goff 21:58.0, 167. Lauren Centrowitz 22:31.1
MEN'S 10,000 METERS
COMPLETE TEAM RESULTS
1. Colorado 90, 2. Wisconsin 94, 3. Arkansas 202, 4. Butler 243, 5. Brigham Young 267, 6. Stanford 269, 7. Iona 279, 8. Arizona State 315, 9. New Mexico 330, 10. Cal Poly 333, 11. Notre Dame 350, 12. Texas 360, 13. Iowa 371, 14. Air Force 382, 15. Georgetown 400, 16. North Carolina State 430, 17. Florida State 438, 18T. Minnesota 453, 18T. Indiana 453, 20. American 459, 21. Providence 486, 22. Ohio State 500, 23. Central Michigan 518, 24. Northern Arizona 521, 25. Georgia 534, 26. Michigan 535, 27. Florida 555, 28. Michigan State 565, 29. Colorado State 574, 30. Oklahoma State 621
WINNER AND ALL STANFORD RUNNERS ONLY
1. Simon Bairu (Wisconsin) 30:37.7, 8. Neftalem Araia 31:04.5, 26. Ryan Hall 31:34.9, 65. Chris Emme 32:12.6, 124. Jon Pierce 32:51.6, 138. Brett Gotcher 32:59.8, 198. David Vidal 33:37.3, 206. Peter Meindl