COLFAX, Wash. - The Arizona State men and women's cross country teams brought home two Territorial Cup points with victories over the Unviersity of Arizona at the Pac-12 Cross Country Championships in Colfax, Wash. on Friday, Oct. 30.
The women's streak for cross country and indoor and outdoor track and field is now extended to nine-straight points while the men are at seven-straight against the Wildcats.
While the women finished in 6th place out of 12 teams, the men brought finished just above the Wildcats in 8th place.
"It's funny because we're eighth on the guys side and obviously that's not great, but seven of those teams (in front) are ranked in the top 35 in the country," head coach Louie Quintana said of his men. "If you look at it we were right in the mix with about a mile and a half to go -- we were right in that 4-5-6 range ... if we were in any other conference we're like 3rd or 4th."
Out of the gate, the Sun Devil men were running a good race, with junior Bernie Montoya keeping pace at the front and redshirt junior C.J. Albertson patiently holding his ground not far behind. Redshirt senior Ryan Herson had his nose in the mix up at the front for the first half of the 8K as well.
Through the first 2K, ASU was in 6th place out of the nine men's teams with help coming from behind.
As the race continued, the leaders began to break away and the Sun Devils settled in for the final 4K. Albertson seemed to find a groove and patiently waited in the mid-20 range through 6K.
"I came into the race pretty relaxed," Albertson said. "The first couple loops I was trying to stay relaxed and I did. I felt really good. The leaders took off and I made a decision I couldn't go with them and that I would just settle in and maintain. I didn't lose much ground and picked a few guys off at the finish."
Redshirt sophomore Cody Brazeal rallied down the stretch, finishing in 58th place. Redshirt senior Ryan Norton also picked runners off through the final 4K, crossing the line right behind Herson in 56th to finish the scoring for the men.
For the women, freshman Samantha Ortega, senior Adriana Olivas, junior Chelsey Totten and senior Cristina Juan Torres came together at the 2K mark to form a train in the 20-25 range of the 107-women pack. They would pace each other from there all the way through the final 4K of the race.
They would almost all finish right there, with Ortega moving up to 18th with a time of 20:27.9, Olivas right behind her in 20th, Totten finishing strong in 28th, and junior Jenna Maack moving up to cross the line in 48th.
"It was a little fast," Ortega said. "I really thought it was a defining race to start my college career and I'm really looking forward to coming back next year and trying it again and continuing to help the team."
While Juan Torres rounded out the scoring for the women in 58th, her, Maack and Olivas did all improve on their times from last year's Pac-12 Championship.
"On the women's side, it's painful because we were so close to beating Utah today," Quintana said. "We had them beat with 800 meters to go. Cristina (Juan Torres) really struggled getting to the line. No one is more disappointed than she is, so not to call her out, yet that's what it's all about, it's a team race ... we'll definitely need her in two weeks at regionals to make the national championships."
With the Pac-12 Championship out of the way and two Territorial Cup points earned, the focus now turns to the NCAA Regional meet and the Sun Devils' final chance at a birth to the NCAA Championships.
They'll have two weeks to train and prepare before heading to Seattle, Wash. for the NCAA West Regionals on Friday, Nov. 13.
Women's Results
1. Colorado - 45 points
2. Oregon - 51 points
3. Stanford - 80 points
4. Washington - 92 points
5. Utah - 149 points
6. Arizona State - 162 points
7. California - 204 points
8. Arizona - 237 points
9. UCLA - 241 points
10. Washington St. - 262 points
11. Oregon State - 321 points
12. USC - 361 points
Individual
18. Samantha Ortega - 20:27.9
20. Adriana Olivas - 20:33.7
28. Chelsey Totten - 20:41.3
48. Jenna Maack - 21:06.5
58. Cristina Juan Torres - 21:20.7
63. Shaina Corbin - 21:35.8
78. Hannah Benoit-Bucher - 21:58.3
79. Kaitlin Kaluzny - 22:01.0
87. Jen Owen - 22:12.5
Men's Results
1. Colorado - 46 points
2. Stanford - 57 points
3. Oregon - 83 points
4. Washington - 96 points
5. UCLA - 127 points
6. Washington St. - 137 points
7. California - 157 points
8. Arizona State - 218 points
9. Arizona - 271 points
19. CJ Albertson - 23:46.1
49. Bernie Montoya - 24:43.5
52. Cody Brazeal - 24:46.8
55. Ryan Herson - 24:53.5
56. Ryan Norton - 24:55.0
65. Ryan Normand - 25:15.0
67. Brandon Boys - 25:17.4
69. Nick Dale - 25:18.0