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Copyright © 2008 Ed Bagley It was show time on Halloween at the Springfield (OR) Country Club for the 2008 Pac 10 Conference Cross-Country Championships and the University of Washington women runners showed why the Huskies are the No. 1-ranked team in the country, winning with an unprecedented perfect score of 15. Freshman Kendra Schaaf broke the course record by 33 seconds and was followed by sophomore Mel Lawrence, freshman Christine Babcock, senior Anita Campbell, junior Katie Follett and senior Amada Miller. The perfect 1-2-3-4-5 finish for 15 points had never before been accomplished in women's or men's Pac 10 championships. Schaaf, a Canadian from Regina, Saskatchewan who led from start to finish, ran a blistering 19:34 over the 6,000-meter course (3.72 miles) to break the record of 19:57. Four of Washington's top 5 finishers—Mel Lawrence (19:53), Christine Babcock (19:54) and Anita Campbell (19:57)—all beat or tied the old record. Katie Follett was 8 seconds later at 20:05. Washington's total team time was 1:39:12.24 for an average individual time of 19:50 for the Huskies' first 5 finishers. Amanda Miller's strong 6th place finish did not even count as only the first 5 finishers figure in the scoring. Sophomore Lauren Saylor finished 12th. Schaaf was Washington's first individual winner since Regina Joyce in 1982. All 7 women runners earned All-Pac 10 honors for their unprecedented top 6 finish that gave the Huskies their second Pac 10 title in school history, the first coming in 1989. In the women's team competition, Oregon was runner-up (55 points), Stanford 3rd (99), Arizona State 4th (105) and Washington State 5th (188). The previous record low score in Pac 10 Championship history was 19 by the 2002 Stanford men's team and 22 by the 2006 Stanford women's team. Both teams went on to win NCAA championships. The win by the Washington women snapped Stanford's streak of 12 straight championship titles. Many pundits thought Oregon may have had an advantage in the meet since it was run on their home course, and the Oregon men did prevail in their competition, easily winning the team title with 28 points. Stanford was runner-up with 47 and California and Washington were tied for 3rd with 169. Oregon was led by senior Galen Rupp's course-record 22:55 clocking for 8,000 meters (4.96 miles). It was the first race of the season for Rupp, a 2008 Olympic competitor for the United States in the 10,000 meters. Washington's top runner in the competition was Jeremy Mineau's 10-place finish. The 3rd place finish by the Washington men was their best showing since 2003. The Huskies are coached by Greg Metcalf. Next up for the Husky runners will be the NCAA West Regional Championships on Nov. 15 at Stanford University, and then the NCAA National Championships on Nov. 24 at Indiana State University.
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"The Golden Era of Prep Distance Running in Washington - Part 1" "Pat Tyson's Arrival Starts a Run of 9 Consecutive Titles - Part 2" "How About a State X-Country Title Where the First 3 Finishers Are Your Runners - Part 3" "2 Mead Runners Crack 9 Minutes at the State 3200 Meter Championships - Part 4" Find my Blog at: www.edbagleyblog.com www.edbagleyblog.com/Sports.html
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