MIKE CHIEN Senior Justin Patananan runs
for the finish line in a race last week.
By Michael Sneag
Daily Bruin Contributor
This is when it really counts. Everything up until this point
was about gaining the experience and confidence to run well now.
The Pac-10 Championships, which are being held in Tempe, Ariz., are
the start of the postseason for the UCLA cross country teams, and
they are excited and confident for what lies ahead.
The women’s team will be led by true freshman Alejandra
Barrientos, UCLA’s top runner in every meet she has run, and
sophomore Lena Nilsson, who ran and won her first meet of the
season at the CS Fullerton Invitational on Oct. 19.
They will be joined by junior Elaine Canchola, sophomore Valerie
Flores, freshmen Carolyn Shea and Lori Mann and sophomore Jessica
Marr. Sophomore Tiffany Burgess will be the alternate.
“I am more confident with this group of runners than any
other combination that we have used all season,” head coach
Eric Peterson said. “I know the kids are hungry to run well
and earn respect.”
Five of the nine teams competing are nationally ranked,
including top-ranked Stanford and No. 22 UCLA. The other ranked
teams are No. 7 Arizona State, No. 11 Arizona and No. 13
Washington.
To do well against such tough competition, the team knows that
it is going to have to run well, both as individuals and as a
team.
“If we all have good races, we know we can beat Washington
and Arizona,” Canchola said. “We know what we need to
do, and we are going to get it done this week. I am very confident
that we are going to do well.”
On the men’s side, the team will be led by senior Bryan
Green and vastly-improved freshmen Ben Aragon and Puneet Mahan. The
Bruins will, as they have all season long, be forced to rely on
youth and inexperience.
“Bryan is back and ready to go, and Ben and Puneet are two
athletes on the rise,” Peterson said. “Ben has
displayed an extraordinary level of composure for a true freshman.
Puneet has also started to make a contribution, and if he can raise
it up a notch this week, he is going to be a guy who can really
play the game at this level.”
The rest of the men include junior Phil Young, senior Justin
Patananan and freshmen Seth Neumuller and Reggie Oronoz. Freshman
Bryan Bauerle is the alternate.
The men’s team is also facing stiff Pac-10 competition.
Stanford is No. 2, followed by No. 13 Arizona, No. 19 Arizona
State, No. 20 Oregon and No. 24 Washington. While the Bruins have
realistic expectations, they know that if they run hard, anything
can happen.
“We (are) going into the meet ranked seventh out of eight
teams,” Peterson said.
“We are going to run hard because there is nothing to
lose,” he continued. “We know we aren’t going to
beat Stanford, but I think we can compete with the mid-range teams
in the conference. Hopefully we can use the experience to build for
the future and generate some momentum for Regionals.”