Sept. 6, 2002
TEMPE, Ariz. - The Arizona State men's and women's cross country teams opened their respective 2002 campaigns Friday at the adidas Cross Country Invitational in South Bend, Ind., with the 19th-ranked women finishing third out of three teams and the 13th-ranked men taking fourth of four teams. Both Sun Devil squads were led by freshmen runners in a closely contested team race among nationally ranked foes. No. 7 N.C. State won the men's race with 32 points and was followed by No. 25 Notre Dame (42), Tennessee (70) and ASU (72). The No. 9 UND women scored 32 points to win its division, followed by No. 3 NCSU (43) and ASU (45).
"It is no fun to lose any meet, but I think we can come away being very optimistic about our chances to succeed down the road," Walt Drenth, ASU coach, said. "I thought the freshmen really handled themselves well in their first collegiate meet and I think they showed we have potential to be better than last year. The tough part about this meet is that all the teams here competed at the NCAA's last year and did very well. With how well the newcomers did today, I am confident we will improve as the weeks roll along and be ready for the end of the year."
For the men, freshman Aaron Aguayo (Phoenix, Ariz./Mountain Point HS) clocked a time of 25:09 to finish with a team-high fifth-place finish, just 16 seconds off the lead. Two-time All-American Fasil Bizuneh (Sr., Indianapolis, Ind./Ben Davis HS) finished 12th at 25:28 with sophomore JJ Duke (So., Clovis, Calif./Clovis HS), the Pac-10 Newcomer of the Year in 2001, captured 14th at 25:35. Senior Jeremy Rasmussen (Glendale, Ariz./Mountain Ridge HS), who ran the course in 25:45 for an 18th-place finish, and redshirt-freshman Derek Pisel (Glendale, Ariz./Mountain Ridge), the 24th finisher in the race at 24:54, rounded the scoring five for the Sun Devils.
On the ladies side, true freshmen Jessica Scalzo (Snoqualimie, Wash./Mt. Si HS) and Amy Hastings (Leavenworth, Kan./Leavenworth HS) led the way for the Sun Devils with fourth and fifth-place finishes, respectively. Scalzo made the circuit in 17:28 with Hastings just behind her at 17:40. A trio of sophomores followed the rookie leaders to round out the scoring for ASU. Amanda Lyon (Phoenix, Ariz./Desert Vista HS) finished 10th at 18:16 and was followed by 12th-place finisher Liz Lindgren (Klamath Falls, Ore./Klamath Union HS) at 18:31 and Mandi Fitz-Gustafson (The Dalles, Ore./The Dalles HS), the 14th runner to cross the finish line, with a time of 18:40.
The Sun Devils return to action in three weeks when they travel to Minneapolis, Minn., for the Roy Griak Invitational, Sept. 28, hosted by Minnesota. The ASU women will try to defend the title it won a year ago while the men will look to better their eighth-place finish.
2002 Notre Dame/adidas Cross Country Invitational (South Bend, Ind.) Men's Results (8,000m) Team Points (Finishes) 1. #7 N.C. State 32 (3, 4, 6, 9, 10) 2. #25 Notre Dame 42 (1, 2, 8, 15, 16) 3. Tennessee 70 (7, 11, 13, 19, 20) 4. #13 Arizona State 72 (5, 12, 14, 18, 23)
Men's Individual: 1. Todd Mobley (ND) 24:53 5. Aaron Aguayo (ASU) 25:09 12. Fasil Bizuneh (ASU) 25:28 14. JJ Duke (ASU) 25:35 18. Jeremy Rasmussen (ASU) 25:45 24. Derek Pisel (ASU) 25:54 27. Dan Maher (ASU) 26:01 31. Patrick Keller (ASU) 26:08 35. Ryan Warrenberg (ASU) 26:24 38. Griffin Lee (ASU) 27:00
Women's Results (5,000m) Team Points (Finishes) 1. #9 Notre Dame 32 (2, 6, 7, 8, 9) 2. #3 N.C. State 43 (1, 3, 11, 13, 15) 3. #19 Arizona St. 45 (4, 5, 10, 12, 14)
Women's Individual: 1. Kristin Price (NCS) 17:19 4. Jessica Scalzo (ASU) 17:28 5. Amy Hastings (ASU) 17:40 10. Amanda Lyon (ASU) 18:16 12. Liz Lindgren (ASU) 18:31 14. Mandi Fitz-Gustafson (ASU) 18:40 16. Desiree Davila (ASU) 18:42 17. Jenny Aldridge (ASU) 18:48 19. Alvina Begay (ASU) 18:58 20. Megan Laib (ASU) 19:11 23. Jenna Wreiden (ASU) 19:35 25. Lisa Pohlit (ASU) 19:51 26. Joanie Baca (ASU) 19:57 28. Penny Jacobson (ASU) 20:17 30. Kelly Burke (ASU) 20:36 31. Morgan Stanton (ASU) 20:41