Teams have hard time fulfilling expectations

  MIKE CHIEN The UCLA women’s cross country team runs in a
meet at Fullerton earlier this season.

By Michael Sneag
Daily Bruin Contributor

Meeting expectations is never an easy achievement. There are
always obstacles and unforeseen circumstances that are just not
possible to predict, and the cross country teams experienced both
throughout the season.

Both the cross country teams were young and inexperienced teams
with limited experience. Head coach Eric Peterson and the rest of
the coaching staff were expecting contributions from their
upperclassmen while at the same time, knew that their young
freshmen would have to play a role as well in the teams’
success.

From the start, both teams made it their goal to make it to the
national meet in South Carolina. The women’s team
accomplished that, finishing 21st and gaining valuable experience
along the way. The men were able to send senior Bryan Green as an
individual qualifier for the second consecutive year, but were
unable to qualify as a team.

The women’s team gelled well and formed a cohesive unit
very quickly.  The team had almost no experience from the
previous year, and the team knew they had to develop as a
group.

Freshman Alejandra Barrientos quickly established herself as a
team leader by finishing as the top Bruin in every race she
competed in until the Pac-10 Championships, but she did it battling
a chest cold during the heart of the schedule. She also battled
running with one shoe in the national meet and still led the team
for almost the entire race.

Junior Elaine Canchola and sophomore Valerie Flores provided the
stability with strong performances throughout the season. Freshmen
Carolyn Shea, who finished as the top Bruin at the national meet,
Lori Mann and Carmen Winant also ran well, gaining much needed
experience, along with sophomores Lena Nilsson, who joined the team
late in the season, and Tiffany Burgess.

On the men’s side, the team suffered injuries and
disappointments almost from the start. Senior Andrew Wulf was
sidelined with a hurt achilles tendon. Sophomore Jon Rankin, who
was expected to be the Bruins’ No. 2 runner suffered a stress
fracture and was lost for the season, and Green had to deal with a
severe chest infection, leaving the Bruins without any experienced
runners.

Green did win the Sundodger Invitational in Seattle on Sept. 22,
just before he came down with the infection, giving him his first
major race win of his Bruin career.

The freshman class did step up, especially Ben Aragon, who
stepped into Rankin’s spot as the Bruins’ No. 2 runner
behind Green. He won the Cal State Fullerton Invitational on Oct.
19 and placed 25th at the Western Regional Qualifying meet to earn
All-Western Region honors as a freshman, something only two other
Pac-10 runners have earned.

Fellow freshmen Puneet Mahan, Robert Kuebler, Seth Neumuller,
Reggie Oronoz and Bryan Bauerle all stepped up at various times and
made contributions, but a lack of confidence and racing experience
were a major hindrance.

Senior Justin Patananan suffered an inconsistent last season and
junior Phil Young was unable to step up fully but did gain
experience that will be invaluable next year.

Overall, both teams used this season as a building block for the
future. The women’s team experienced more success, but both
are ready for the challenges ahead and have the talent needed to be
competitive.