Oct. 15, 2005

Sunnyvale, CA- As the West Coast Conference championships loom two weeks away, the Saint Mary's men's and women's cross country teams turned some heads Saturday morning by posting 12 personal bests from Baylands Park. Sophomore Clare Schwallie became the first SMC woman runner to break 19 minutes since 2003 and senior Travis Biziorek led the men for the second consecutive week.

Schwallie not only led the women once again, she ran one of the fastest times in school history, posting an 18:52 on the 5k course. Senior Jamee Thomson set a personal best with a 20:15. Junior Deanna Price set a personal best as well, finishing with a 20:30. Junior Claudia Aguilera shattered her personal best by nearly a minute, posting a 20:51.

Sophomore Karri Hagedorn finished with a 20:57 and sophomore Amanda Kimmey crossed the line at 21:09. Freshman Tina Vincent also set a personal best with a time of 22:57. Sophomore Abigail Harris battled injury and crossed the line with a 23:31. Sophomore Melissa Spahr set a personal best as well with a 25:26. Freshman Sara Nownes rounded out the Gaels with a 26:31.

On the men's side, Biziorek broke his personal best that he set in 2003 on the same course, crossing the line at 27:35. Junior Sean Hanley set a personal best with a 27:44 and senior James Bolger completed the 8k course in a time of 28:16.

Senior Casey Chadd set a season best with a 28:51 and sophomore Peter Mathieu crossed the line at a personal best 29:14. Sophomore Alex Nabors also set a personal best, posting a 29:21. The freshmen trio of Eric Villegas, David Stiles and Michael Truxton rounded out the Gaels with personal best times of 29:27, 29:47 and 30:10, respectively.

Saint Mary's will return to the trail after a week off of tapering. The Gaels will compete in the WCC championships on Saturday, October 29 at Crystal Springs in Belmont. The first gun will sound at 10 a.m.