Cross-country off to Pac-10s
By Daily Bruin Staff
Oct. 27, 1994 9:00 p.m.
Cross-country off to Pac-10s
Postseason begins
in Palo Alto with
conference finals
By Mark Singerton
It’s now or never for the UCLA men’s cross-country team. They’re
unranked and have only an outside shot at winning the Pac-10
championships Saturday, but the team is surprisingly relaxed
heading into the event.
"I think we have a shot at winning," freshman Brandon Del Campo
said. "I know as far as the freshmen go, we’re ready to step
up."
Indeed, statistics point to an emergence in the freshman
harriers, who have been one of the few bright spots for the Bruins
in 1994. At least three freshmen have scored in every one of their
meets, and top newcomer Mebrahtom Keflezighi has placed no lower
than fifth all season.
Keflezighi hopes to win at Stanford this time, but knows that to
do so he will probably have to overtake Martin Keino of Arizona,
who beat him by 22 seconds four weeks ago.
"I don’t know if I’ll beat him, but I know I won’t lose by that
margin again," Keflezighi said. "I think we’re in for a close
race."
If history repeats itself this weekend, the Bruins should do no
worse than place third. At the Stanford Invitational Oct. 1, UCLA
finished behind only the No. 17 Cardinal and eventual winner, No.
11 Arizona, and toppled third-ranked Brigham Young by 28
points.
But the third-place finish may have been inconsequential. Second
place Stanford blew out the Bruins that day, finishing a full 78
points ahead. The fight for first was, as usual, between the
Cardinal and the Wildcats, who are the favorites Saturday. But this
time, the field will be stuffed with even more talent, with No. 17
Oregon and No. 19 Washington entering the foray.
The No. 13 Bruin women will be in a dogfight themselves in Palo
Alto. After finishing second to the Cardinal at the Stanford
Invitational, 87-63, UCLA is looking to strip the defending Pac-10
champions of their crown.
This year, the No. 8 Cardinal are led by freshmen Sarna Renfro
and Kortney Dunscombe, who placed third and fifth against UCLA at
Palo Alto. Stanford is arguably the deepest team in the conference,
but UCLA should also expect challenges from Arizona and Oregon.
"Realistically speaking, I know we can match up our talent with
Stanford and Arizona, but I’d consider the meet a success if we
come out second," UCLA coach Eric Peterson said.
The team itself is hoping for much more.
"I’ve never been on a team that had this kind of talent before,
where I know we can just go in and win the whole event," senior
Karen Hecox said. "We’re going to be underdogs, but the teams are
so closely matched that we could finish first or fourth, depending
on how the others do."
The Bruin supporting cast will have to step it up if UCLA has
any chance of winning. No. 3 runner Maya Muneno has been solid all
season, finishing 29th at the BYU Invitational Oct. 15, and No. 5
Anna Delgado has surged of late, placing third for the squad in its
past two races.
"It’s so hard to get everybody on the team to perform well on
the same day," Peterson said. "But I expect everyone to show up for
this one."
