SACRAMENTO – Garrett O'Toole and Daan Haven were Arizona State's top-runners at Friday's NCAA West Regional Championships as the Sun Devil men took 14th and the women scored a 16th-place finish in Sacramento.
The men came out strong in the extended 10K race as O'Toole, John Reniewicki and Fearghal Curtin led the race through one mile and had ASU as high as third in the team standings.
"The biggest thing for us was making sure we could get out and run free," men's head coach Cory Leslie said. "Regional meets can get packed in with a lot of bodies and a limited amount of space. It just happened to be that Garrett, Fearghal and John found that space up front."
While they led the race, breaking away proved difficult in the deepest region in the nation as just seconds separated the leaders from the bottom of the field.
"They looked in control, running 1-2-3, but just a couple steps behind them was 150th-place," Leslie said. "I think they just went out the way they had to because if they didn't, we probably wouldn't have liked where they ended up at that point in the race."
In the end, O'Toole, Reniewicki, Curtin, Jackson Lewis and Erik Gonzalez all scored for the Devils and they finished the season right where they entered the regional.
"When you look at the depth of this region, people say the top-seven teams here are in the top-15 in the country and the teams at 12, 13, 14, could be top-five in any other region," Leslie said. "For our guys, we had our best race at the last meet of the season when it mattered the most. More than anything, I think it jump-starts and spearheads the energy we take into indoors and outdoors."
In the women's 6K race that opened the day, Haven and Samantha Ortega ran with each other for most of the race and finished within three seconds of each other with Haven taking 63rd in 21:10.6 and Ortega following just behind in 68th.
"We had four people run season-bests, so I think that's what you take from a meet like this," women's head coach Jeremy Rasmussen said. "It's a tough way to end the season, but I think there's still quite a bit we can take from this season that we can use to build on and make steps in the right direction."
Alexis Nichols finished in 88th, Courtney Lewis took 110th and Megan Reniewicki landed in 115th to wrap the Sun Devils' scoring at 434.
"You learn a lot about yourself in cross country," Rasmussen said. "I think there were a lot of positive things from this season that we can take to the track where a lot of our team is more comfortable. They made some nice gains that we can now take and use for training for this upcoming indoor season."
Pac-12 champion Oregon also claimed the regional title with Mountain West champion Boise State grabbing the other automatic qualifying bid on the women's side.
The West Coast Conference champion Pilots of Portland earned the men's crown and Washington upset Pac-12 champion Stanford for the second auto bid to the NCAA Cross Country Championships.
NCAA West Regional Championships | Nov. 9, 2018 | Sacramento, Calif.
Women's 6K Results
63. Daan Haven – 21:10.6
68. Samantha Ortega – 21:13.9
88. Alexis Nichols – 21:27.9
110. Courtney Lewis – 21:42.0
115. Megan Reniewicki – 21:47.1
128. Anna Pruter – 21:58.7
220. Angela Saitta – 23:23.7
Men's 10K Results
40. Garrett O'Toole – 30:22.7
75. John Reniewicki – 31:01.1
94. Fearghal Curtin – 31:28.2
105. Jackson Lewis – 31:43.5
106. Erik Gonzalez – 31:45.6
153. Michael Renner – 32:43.4
201. Ian Kebenei – 34:32.6
Women's Team Results
1. Oregon – 44 pts
2. Boise State – 49
3. Stanford – 95
4. Washington – 118
5. Portland – 144
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16. Arizona State – 434
Men's Team Results
1. Portland – 77
2. Washington – 82
3. Boise State – 102
4. Stanford – 110
5. Oregon – 149
--
14. Arizona State – 405
The men came out strong in the extended 10K race as O'Toole, John Reniewicki and Fearghal Curtin led the race through one mile and had ASU as high as third in the team standings.
"The biggest thing for us was making sure we could get out and run free," men's head coach Cory Leslie said. "Regional meets can get packed in with a lot of bodies and a limited amount of space. It just happened to be that Garrett, Fearghal and John found that space up front."
While they led the race, breaking away proved difficult in the deepest region in the nation as just seconds separated the leaders from the bottom of the field.
"They looked in control, running 1-2-3, but just a couple steps behind them was 150th-place," Leslie said. "I think they just went out the way they had to because if they didn't, we probably wouldn't have liked where they ended up at that point in the race."
In the end, O'Toole, Reniewicki, Curtin, Jackson Lewis and Erik Gonzalez all scored for the Devils and they finished the season right where they entered the regional.
"When you look at the depth of this region, people say the top-seven teams here are in the top-15 in the country and the teams at 12, 13, 14, could be top-five in any other region," Leslie said. "For our guys, we had our best race at the last meet of the season when it mattered the most. More than anything, I think it jump-starts and spearheads the energy we take into indoors and outdoors."
In the women's 6K race that opened the day, Haven and Samantha Ortega ran with each other for most of the race and finished within three seconds of each other with Haven taking 63rd in 21:10.6 and Ortega following just behind in 68th.
"We had four people run season-bests, so I think that's what you take from a meet like this," women's head coach Jeremy Rasmussen said. "It's a tough way to end the season, but I think there's still quite a bit we can take from this season that we can use to build on and make steps in the right direction."
Alexis Nichols finished in 88th, Courtney Lewis took 110th and Megan Reniewicki landed in 115th to wrap the Sun Devils' scoring at 434.
"You learn a lot about yourself in cross country," Rasmussen said. "I think there were a lot of positive things from this season that we can take to the track where a lot of our team is more comfortable. They made some nice gains that we can now take and use for training for this upcoming indoor season."
Pac-12 champion Oregon also claimed the regional title with Mountain West champion Boise State grabbing the other automatic qualifying bid on the women's side.
The West Coast Conference champion Pilots of Portland earned the men's crown and Washington upset Pac-12 champion Stanford for the second auto bid to the NCAA Cross Country Championships.
NCAA West Regional Championships | Nov. 9, 2018 | Sacramento, Calif.
Women's 6K Results
63. Daan Haven – 21:10.6
68. Samantha Ortega – 21:13.9
88. Alexis Nichols – 21:27.9
110. Courtney Lewis – 21:42.0
115. Megan Reniewicki – 21:47.1
128. Anna Pruter – 21:58.7
220. Angela Saitta – 23:23.7
Men's 10K Results
40. Garrett O'Toole – 30:22.7
75. John Reniewicki – 31:01.1
94. Fearghal Curtin – 31:28.2
105. Jackson Lewis – 31:43.5
106. Erik Gonzalez – 31:45.6
153. Michael Renner – 32:43.4
201. Ian Kebenei – 34:32.6
Women's Team Results
1. Oregon – 44 pts
2. Boise State – 49
3. Stanford – 95
4. Washington – 118
5. Portland – 144
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16. Arizona State – 434
Men's Team Results
1. Portland – 77
2. Washington – 82
3. Boise State – 102
4. Stanford – 110
5. Oregon – 149
--
14. Arizona State – 405