Oct. 30, 2009
LONG BEACH, Calif. - The Arizona State University cross country program competed in the 2009 Pac-10 Cross Country Championships at the Sky Links Golf Course in Long Beach, Calif., on Friday afternoon and returned to Tempe with a pair of third-place team finishes to accompany several strong individual showings at the annual competition. Brandon Bethke and Kari Hardt led the men and women, respectively, as both finished in the Top 10 and earned First Team All-Pac-10 honors.
In the team race, the No. 16 men scored 88 points -- the fifth-best total in a Pac-10 meet in program history -- and finished ahead of one higher ranked team in No. 13 Washington (119) while No. 2 Stanford (28) and No. 2 Oregon (45) rounded out the first two positions in the eight-team race. The women, who entered the meet No. 31 in the nation, scored 110 points to edge No. 12 Stanford (111) by one point for third place while No. 1 Washington (35) and No. 8 Oregon (42) took the Top 2 spots. The women also finished ahead of No. 17 Arizona (sixth place), who scored 130 points.
The men led off the competition first and Bethke put on a strong showing as he stayed with the leader much of the race and placed second overall in 22:41.1. His finish tied him with Fasil Bizuneh of the best individual male finish in a Pac-10 meet in program history after the former All-American Sun Devil took second at the 2001 meet. Bethke also was one of four men to finish in the Top 25, which also included Ben Engelhardt, who earned Second Team All-Pac-10 honors by placing 14th overall in 23:34.9.
The remaining scoring runners (Top 5 on the team) included Jeff Helmer (22nd, 23:49.9), Dylan Hatcher (25th, 24:00.5) and Patrick Milloy (28th, 24:04.4). ASU also had four other men in the competition, including Nick Happe (35th, 24:18.8), Zeke Van Patten (39th, 24:27.8), Mason McHenry (50th, 24:45.7) and Daniel Lovell (53rd, 24:52.6).
Hardt was once again the first Sun Devil across the finish line as she improved two places from last year to take seventh-place overall in 20:07.8. Allie Kieffer, in her first race of the season for the Sun Devils, missed All-Pac-10 honors by one place as she was 15th overall in 20:28.4. The rest of the team's Top 5 finishers included Lindsay Prescott (21st, 20:37.4), Anna Sperry (28th, 20:49.2) and Kate Lydy (41st, 21:14.8). The remaining Sun Devils in the race included Angela Spadafino (43rd, 21:23.3), Cherise McNair (53rd, 21:37.2), Kauren Tarver (21:58.8) and Brianna Smith (71st, 22:17.6).
By finishing higher than the Wildcats in both races (men: 3rd to 8th; women: 3rd to 6th), the Sun Devils picked up two points and captured their first lead in the inaugural State Farm Territorial Cup Series, 2-1. UA had the lead heading into the day as they won the head-to-head match-up in soccer last week. Each academic year points will be awarded to the winning team or school at the conclusion of 18 rivalry sports competitions or series. The university with the most points at the end of the academic year will earn the new State Farm Territorial Cup Series Trophy in addition to bragging rights in the state. The new series trophy is being hand crafted by Reed & Barton, a silversmith located in Massachusetts that created the original Territorial Cup Trophy back in 1899. This new trophy will be unveiled in the spring and will be ready for the 2009-2010 State Farm Territorial Cup Series champion to take home. More importantly, State Farm will donate $20,000 to each university's education scholarship fund to help deserving students.
The championship portion of the Sun Devils' schedule continues in two weeks (November 15) as both teams will travel to Springfield, Ore., for the 2009 NCAA West Region Championships hosted by Oregon. That meet will be used to help determine the participants for the NCAA Championships in Terre Haute, Ind., on November 23 as the Top 2 teams automatically advance with 13 other teams from around the nation earning at-large selections from the NCAA following the conclusion of all regional races.
2009 Pac-10 Conference Championships
Sky Links Golf Course - Long Beach, Calif. (hosted by USC)
ASU Men's Results - 8,000m Course
2. Brandon Bethke - 22:41.4
14. Ben Engelhardt - 23:34.9
22. Jeff Helmer - 23:49.9
25. Dylan Hatcher - 24:00.5
28. Patrick Milloy - 24:04.4
35. Nick Happe - 24:18.8
39. Zeke Van Patten - 24:27.8
50. Mason McHenry - 24:45.7
53. Daniel Lovell - 24:52.6
Men's Team Scoring
1. #1 Stanford - 28
2. #2 Oregon - 45
3. #16 Arizona State - 88
4. #13 Washington - 119
5. UCLA - 122
6. #26 Washington State - 163
7. California - 180
8. Arizona - 193
ASU Women's Results - 6,000m Course
7. Kari Hardt - 20:07.8
15. Allie Kieffer - 20:28.4
21. Lindsay Prescott - 20:37.4
28. Anna Sperry - 20:49.2
41. Kate Lydy - 21:14.8
43. Angela Spadafino - 21:23.3
53. Cherise McNair - 21:37.2
64. Kauren Tarver - 21:58.8
71. Brianna Smith - 22:17.6
Women's Team Scoring
1. #1 Washington - 35
2. #8 Oregon - 42
3. Arizona State - 110
4. #12 Stanford - 111
5. California - 128
6. #17 Arizona - 130
7. UCLA - 207
8. Oregon State - 239
9. USC - 250
10. Washington State - 251