TUCSON, Ariz. – The Arizona State Cross Country team captured the first Territorial Cup® point for the Sun Devils in the 2016-17 Series, as the men's program – combined with track and field -- earned their 10th-straight point over the University of Arizona. The men finished in eighth overall at the Pac-12 Championship, one spot and nine points ahead of Arizona at the Randolph North Golf Course in Tucson.
While head coach Louie Quintana always expects to defeat the Wildcats in cross country, he had higher aspirations for his squad at the Pac-12 Championships.
"It's a mixed bag – I thought we had some people really execute," he said. "I thought CJ (Albertson) really executed the race plan well. He said he wasn't feeling very good, but still moved up from 68th all the way to 25th. Two more weeks and he's going to be in a good spot. Brandon Boys really moved up and finished strong as well. The plan was to have everyone latch on to Brandon."
Winning by nine points in cross country is equivalent to holding a one-run lead with a man on third. The Sun Devil men showed resilience and may have won the race on the final lap, as the likes of redshirt sophomores Brandon Boys and John Reniewicki finished just one spot in front of each of their equivalent runners.
The Devils scored with finishes in 25th, 46th, 48th, 51st and 55th for a total of 225 points. The Wildcats came in 23rd, 47th, 49th, 56th and 59th for a total of 234 points.
Albertson may have been the most astonishing story of the meet, as he picked off 15 runners between the 1K and 3K mark, then proceeded to pass 13 from 3K to 4K. He was in 40th at the halfway point, but was about to catch a second wind after remaining still for the next kilometer. From 5 to 6, he passed four followed by another six to move into 30th with 1K to go. Over the final kilometer to the finish line, he would blaze by another five for 25th place.
On the women's side, Chelsey Albertson again paced the young women's team with a 35th-place finish. She moved up as high as 31st near the halfway mark. First-time Pac-12 competitor Billie Jo Dytrt – a transfer from Paradise Valley Community College – finished in 46th, moving up seven spots over the final kilometer for a nail-biting finish against Arizona.
While the initial results showed ASU ahead of Arizona, a miscalculation refreshed the results and put the Wildcats just 32 points ahead of the Devils. The women placed 10th out of 12 teams, finishing ahead of Washington State and USC.
"The women were a little too far back off the start, but we made up some great ground," said Quintana. "U of A countered with their top two, and that's what the difference was between us. But if you look, we were 35 points from seventh and that's not a lot in cross country. It's deceiving. We're redshirting four women that will probably be in our top five next year. Billie Jo Dytrt, Courtney Lewis and Megan Reniewicki will be the cornerstones of our program. They're watching the awards ceremony now because that's where we want to be."
Both the men and women will have two weeks to prepare and recuperate before the NCAA Regional meet in Sacramento, Calif. on Friday, Nov. 11. Quintana says not much needs to change for the women, but the men need to dig deep to be where they should be as a group.
"For the women, honestly, I think we're in a good spot," he said. "If we go out two seconds faster in the mile, we'd be in seventh today. We missed (Kaitlyn) Kaluzny – if we had her today we might be seventh.
"For the men, a lot has to change. For a lot of the guys, it's about believing in themselves. They don't have to feel bad about themselves, but we just need to learn from it and take a new attitude into the regional meet."
Pac-12 Championships
Tucson, Ariz.
Randolph North G.C.
Men's Team Results
1. Colorado - 41
2. Stanford - 47
3. UCLA - 58
4. Oregon - 94
5. Washington State - 130
6. California - 163
7. Washington - 187
8. Arizona State - 225
9. Arizona - 234
Men's Individual
25. CJ Albertson - 25:01.12
57. Brandon Boys - 26:04.14
59. John Reniewicki - 26:12.89
62. Michael Coccia - 26:28.90
67. Nick Dale - 26:51.39
69. Simon Paige - 26:53.39
73. Cody Brazeal - 27:52.10
Women's Team Results
1. Colorado - 33
2. Washington - 74
3. Stanford - 83
4. Oregon - 88
5. Utah - 169
6. California - 184
7. UCLA - 201
8. Arizona - 204
9. Oregon State - 224
10. Arizona State - 236
11. Washington State - 304
12. USC - 375
Women's Individual
36. Chelsey Albertson - 21:36.94
46. Billie Jo Dytrt - 21:58.21
48. Courtney Lewis - 21:59.52
61. Megan Reniewicki - 22:22.76
62. Jenna Maack - 22:23.22
83. Alexis Nichols - 23:10.65
88. Carissa Diaz - 23:43.14
94. Anna Pruter - 24:08.90
While head coach Louie Quintana always expects to defeat the Wildcats in cross country, he had higher aspirations for his squad at the Pac-12 Championships.
"It's a mixed bag – I thought we had some people really execute," he said. "I thought CJ (Albertson) really executed the race plan well. He said he wasn't feeling very good, but still moved up from 68th all the way to 25th. Two more weeks and he's going to be in a good spot. Brandon Boys really moved up and finished strong as well. The plan was to have everyone latch on to Brandon."
Winning by nine points in cross country is equivalent to holding a one-run lead with a man on third. The Sun Devil men showed resilience and may have won the race on the final lap, as the likes of redshirt sophomores Brandon Boys and John Reniewicki finished just one spot in front of each of their equivalent runners.
The Devils scored with finishes in 25th, 46th, 48th, 51st and 55th for a total of 225 points. The Wildcats came in 23rd, 47th, 49th, 56th and 59th for a total of 234 points.
Albertson may have been the most astonishing story of the meet, as he picked off 15 runners between the 1K and 3K mark, then proceeded to pass 13 from 3K to 4K. He was in 40th at the halfway point, but was about to catch a second wind after remaining still for the next kilometer. From 5 to 6, he passed four followed by another six to move into 30th with 1K to go. Over the final kilometer to the finish line, he would blaze by another five for 25th place.
On the women's side, Chelsey Albertson again paced the young women's team with a 35th-place finish. She moved up as high as 31st near the halfway mark. First-time Pac-12 competitor Billie Jo Dytrt – a transfer from Paradise Valley Community College – finished in 46th, moving up seven spots over the final kilometer for a nail-biting finish against Arizona.
While the initial results showed ASU ahead of Arizona, a miscalculation refreshed the results and put the Wildcats just 32 points ahead of the Devils. The women placed 10th out of 12 teams, finishing ahead of Washington State and USC.
"The women were a little too far back off the start, but we made up some great ground," said Quintana. "U of A countered with their top two, and that's what the difference was between us. But if you look, we were 35 points from seventh and that's not a lot in cross country. It's deceiving. We're redshirting four women that will probably be in our top five next year. Billie Jo Dytrt, Courtney Lewis and Megan Reniewicki will be the cornerstones of our program. They're watching the awards ceremony now because that's where we want to be."
Both the men and women will have two weeks to prepare and recuperate before the NCAA Regional meet in Sacramento, Calif. on Friday, Nov. 11. Quintana says not much needs to change for the women, but the men need to dig deep to be where they should be as a group.
"For the women, honestly, I think we're in a good spot," he said. "If we go out two seconds faster in the mile, we'd be in seventh today. We missed (Kaitlyn) Kaluzny – if we had her today we might be seventh.
"For the men, a lot has to change. For a lot of the guys, it's about believing in themselves. They don't have to feel bad about themselves, but we just need to learn from it and take a new attitude into the regional meet."
Pac-12 Championships
Tucson, Ariz.
Randolph North G.C.
Men's Team Results
1. Colorado - 41
2. Stanford - 47
3. UCLA - 58
4. Oregon - 94
5. Washington State - 130
6. California - 163
7. Washington - 187
8. Arizona State - 225
9. Arizona - 234
Men's Individual
25. CJ Albertson - 25:01.12
57. Brandon Boys - 26:04.14
59. John Reniewicki - 26:12.89
62. Michael Coccia - 26:28.90
67. Nick Dale - 26:51.39
69. Simon Paige - 26:53.39
73. Cody Brazeal - 27:52.10
Women's Team Results
1. Colorado - 33
2. Washington - 74
3. Stanford - 83
4. Oregon - 88
5. Utah - 169
6. California - 184
7. UCLA - 201
8. Arizona - 204
9. Oregon State - 224
10. Arizona State - 236
11. Washington State - 304
12. USC - 375
Women's Individual
36. Chelsey Albertson - 21:36.94
46. Billie Jo Dytrt - 21:58.21
48. Courtney Lewis - 21:59.52
61. Megan Reniewicki - 22:22.76
62. Jenna Maack - 22:23.22
83. Alexis Nichols - 23:10.65
88. Carissa Diaz - 23:43.14
94. Anna Pruter - 24:08.90