Oct. 28, 2005

This Week in Cross Country: The culmination of all the mileage and double-day practices comes to form this weekend when the Saint Mary's cross country team competes in the West Coast Conference Championships. The meet is scheduled for Saturday, October 29 with the men starting things off at 9 a.m. from Crystal Springs in Belmont.

Last Time Out: The Gaels took a well deserved week off last week to prepare for the conference championships but the week before the Gaels showed promise in their tune-up meet. At the Santa Clara Invitational on October 15, 12 personal bests were set. Sophomore Clare Schwallie blitzed the Baylands Park course in a time of 18:52, becoming the first woman runner to eclipse the 19-minute mark since 2003. On the men's side, senior Travis Biziorek led the way with a personal best time of 27:35 on the 8k course.

Scouting the Competition: The Portland men's team has achieved the highest national ranking among WCC distance squads, checking in at a season-high No. 15 in the most recent USCCCA national poll. The Pilots were ranked No. 21 in the preseason listing. The Santa Clara men's team earned its first-ever USCCCA regional ranking this season, checking in at No. 14 in the West Region poll in September.

Top Runners Return to WCC Cross Country Championships: The 2005 WCC Cross Country Championships will feature three runners that have previously won individual conference titles. San Diego's Tiffanie Marley, who became the first Torero to win an individual crown in 2003, is back for her final season on the women's side as well Portland's Amie Dahnke, who claimed last year's individual title and posted the second fastest time (17:40) in WCC Championship history. On the men's side, Portland's Brett Carter looks to regain the title that he claimed as a freshman in 2003 after finishing second to teammate Nick Schuetze last year. Also returning for this year's race is 2004 third place finisher Joe Miller from Gonzaga (25:33), fifth place finisher Matt Perez from Portland (25:56), and sixth place finisher Cheyne Inman from San Francisco

A Look at SMC Head Coach Randy Rau: Randy Rau enters his seventh season as the head men's and women's cross country coach. In his first season at the helm he was named WCC Coach of the Year. Under his tutelage, runners have earned four All-WCC selections, a Freshman of the Year honoree and five honorable mention accolades. Individually, both the men and women's school records have been shattered. Members of his men's team have posted 29 of the 30 fastest times in the history of the program.

Next Week for the Gaels: The Gaels will look to continue their season when they take part in the NCAA Western Regional. The meet is scheduled for 11 a.m. from the Stanford Golf Course.