MEN’S X-COUNTRY Bryan Green (Sr.) Jon Rankin
(So.) Seth Newniller (Fr.) Robert Kubler (Fr.) Justin Patananan
(Jr.) SOURCE: UCLA Sports Info VICTOR CHEN/Daily Bruin Senior
Staff
By Michael Sneag
Daily Bruin Contributor Every team needs a leader and the UCLA
men’s cross country team has the perfect man for the job. The
team has a diverse mix of talent and experience led by senior Bryan
Green, who returns for his final campaign after a breakthrough
season in which he finished in the top 10 in every meet and
qualified for the NCAA championships as an individual. The rest of
the team has question marks but also has the talent to become one
of the toughest teams in the Pac-10 in the years to come. Head
coach Eric Peterson admits that the team is in a rebuilding stage
at the moment but believes that they could grow into one of the top
teams in the nation. “Right now, on our best day we can
definitely be in the upper half of the conference,” Peterson
said. “We haven’t been there in a few years, but we
have great leadership and our ability to pursue and achieve our
goals is stronger now than really ever.” Fueling the optimism
is the depth of the freshmen. The team is loaded with 11 freshmen,
including four who redshirted last year. The team is young, but
Coach Peterson is expecting the young runners to become impact
athletes. “I want them to assume a significant role on the
team immediately,” Peterson said. “It is a lot to ask,
but we recruited the kids with that thought in mind, that they
would be strong enough, both physically and mentally.”
Although Coach Peterson singled out Green as the team captain, he
also mentioned sophomore Jon Rankin as one who has stepped up and
emerged as someone who could fill that void when Green graduates.
The mix of four seniors, two juniors, one sophomore and 11 freshmen
leaves the team with a very youth-oriented mix, meaning that in
order for the team to contend this year, a few of the freshmen will
eventually have to step up. But as Green said, his focus is helping
the team gel as a unit. “(We’re) getting everyone
comfortable running together, racing together and working together,
and working to ensure that this year’s team does better than
last year’s team to give them options to build for the
future,” Green said. The team raced well on Saturday, Sept.
1, at the CSUF Jammin’ Cross Country Invitational in Brea,
Calif. with Green leading the way, finishing fifth overall. But, he
wasn’t alone. Rankin was right behind in eighth place and was
followed closely by freshman Robert Kuebler (15th), Seth Neumuller
(28th), senior Justin Patananan (30th), freshman Puneet
“Pooh” Mahan (33rd) and freshman Ben Aragon (35th). The
team finished third overall in the team competition, giving them
confidence for the upcoming season. The young athletes have bonded
with one another ““ the result is a team bristling with
confidence in their future prospects. “The team has blended
really well together and I think we have a good future,”
Kuebler said. “The freshmen came up first and we bonded
really well and then when the other guys came up, we have all hung
out together, and its all coming together really well,” he
added. The Bruins continue their push to grow and gel as a team,
and they have all the right ingredients to cook up the perfect
season. They have experience, talent and a motivated coach. And
with the right amount of hard work and luck, the team is well on
its way to a successful season.
MEN’S X-COUNTRY SCHEDULE Date
Event Outcome/Time 9/1 Cal
Fullerton Invitational 3rd, 82 9/8 UC Irvine Invitational 10th, 253
9/22 Sundodger Invitational All Day 9/29 Roy Griak Invitational All
Day 10/5 Arizona State Invitational All Day 10/13 NCAA Preview Meet
All Day 10/19 Cal Fullerton Invitational All Day 10/27 Pac-10
Championship All Day 11/10 NCAA West Region Qualifying All Day
11/19 NCAA Championships All Day SOURCE: UCLA Sports Info (schedule
is tentative) VICTOR CHEN/Daily Bruin Senior Staff