Nov. 13, 1999
PORTLAND, Ore. - Arizona State's men and women put a virtual lock on NCAA Championship bids as both finished third at the West Regional Championships in Portland, Ore. While neither claimed one of the two automatic bids to nationals, the ninth-ranked women's team and 15th-ranked men's squad will be one of the 13 at large bids announced Monday.
It was a record day for the Sun Devils as both third-place team finishes eclipse the previous ASU records at regionals. The previous ASU bests were a fifth-place finish by the men in 1984 and a fifth-place finish by the women in 1983.
Individually, both school regional records fell. Sophomore Isaiah Festa finished second in the men's 10K race, finishing in 30:36, six seconds behind Oregon's Steve Fein. Junior Kelly MacDonald broke the women's record with a fourth-place finish on the 5K course, clocking a 17:04, 14 seconds behind champion Julia Stamps of Stanford. In the school record books, Festa surpassed Mike Stahr's fourth-place finish in 1984 and MacDonald eclipsed a pair of sixth-place finishes in 1982 and 1988.
ASU placed two runners in the top five in each meet as sophomores Lisa Aguilera (17:15) and Fasil Bizuneh (30:45) each placed fifth. ASU's men edged 11th-ranked Oregon by four points, 92-96, for third place on the strength of those top-five finishes and the efforts of Garrett Jensen (21st, 31:12), Juan Chavira (23rd, 31:22) and Jeremy Rasmussen (43rd, 32:08). ASU's women scored 86 points as Colleen Burke placed 15th (17:35), Mary Duerbeck 30th (18:08) and Brianna Torres 32nd (18:09).
Stanford, ranked No. 1 on the women's side and fifth on the men's side, captured both team titles. The NCAA National Championships are Monday, Nov. 22 in Bloomington, Ind.
MEN - Top 10 Team Finishes WOMEN - Top 10 Team Finises 1. Stanford (5) 40 1. Stanford (1) 29 2. Arizona (4) 74 2. Washington (10) 63 3. Arizona State (15) 92 3. Arizona State (9) 86 4. Oregon (11) 96 4. UCLA (14) 139 5. Cal Poly SLO 139 5. Oregon (25) 158 6. Portland (18) 161 6. Arizona (24) 166 7. California 165 7. California Irvine 246 8. Washington 206 8. Boise State 277 9. California-Irvine 234 9. Washington State 281 10. UCLA 244 10. Cal Poly SLO 315 (rank in parentheses)
MEN -ASU Individuals WOMEN -ASU Individuals 2. Isaiah Festa 30:36 4. Kelly MacDonald 17:04 5. Fasil Bizuneh 30:45 5. Lisa Aguilera 17:15 21. Garrett Jensen 31:12 15. Colleen Burke 17:35 23. Juan Chavira 31:22 30. Mary Duerbeck 18:08 43. Jeremy Rasmussen 32:08 32. Brianna Torres 18:09 47. Brandon Strong 32:17 48. Amy Maciasek 18:24 111. Chad Barrett 34:44 56. Nicole Simmons 18:32
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