U C D A V I S D I S T A N C E
Cross Country Newsletter September Newsletter
Aggie Open
UC Davis sweeps low key dual meet with Sac State on September 2nd. Pg. 2
Athlete Blog Senior Captain Sam Kearney shares her thoughts at the onset of her final season with the Aggies. Pg. 3
2011 Schedule
Complete schedule for the Aggies’ 2011 season. Pg. 5
Aggie Women Win Hornet Jamboree their collegiate cross country debuts. Redshirt freshman Kristine Lozoya finished 6th, freshman Katie Fry finished 9th, sophomore Shannon Harcus rounded out the scoring runners with her 11th place finish, senior Sam Kearney finished 15th, and freshman Rocki Lambdin finished 17th. On the men’s side the Aggies were lead by senior Axel Stanovsky who was 13th in 19:49 over the 4-‐mile course. Other scorers for the men included senior Gregor Lloyd-‐Smith, who was 23rd in 20:17, and the sophomore trio of Alex Summers, Simon Graves, and Grayson Hough, who finished 31st, 44th, and 50th, respectively. Junior Drew Peterson finished 51st in a time of 21:20.
Women edge Cal by one point while Men take 6th place overall On the heels of the annual team camp at Point Reyes, the Aggies ran partial squads at the Hornet Jamboree on September 10th. The meet was hosted by Sac State at their home course at Granite Park in Sacramento. While a few key runners sat this meet out in order to train through until the Stanford Invite, several Aggies had outstanding races. Sarah Sumpter lead the charge for the women with her third place finish, running at time of 17:15 over the 5k course. Teammate Alycia Cridebring finished 4th in 17:46. Five other Aggies finished in the top twenty, including three who were making UC Davis Distance: Fortitudine Vincimus
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U C D A V I S D I S T A N C E
UC Davis Welcomes Elizondo to staff The Aggies are excited to bring Devin Elizondo onto the staff as a volunteer assistant for the 2011-‐12 seasons. A standout prep runner from Mission Bay, CA, Devin continued his running career as a member of both the cross country and track teams at UCLA. Devin graduated from UCLA in 1998 and since then has coached at Brentwood High School in Los Angeles. While at Brentwood he guided athletes to a number of achievements on the state level, including an individual state champion in 2003. Devin has chosen to pursue coaching at the collegiate level and will spend his first year lending his expertise to the Aggies. He has already had a very positive influence on the men’s and women’s teams and will undoubtedly make a great impact in his time here.
UC Davis Distance: Fortitudine
Davis Sweeps Aggie Open
The Aggies opened their season in a low key dual meet with Sac State on September 2nd. The meet took place in the evening on the Aggies home course at Putah Creek reserve. The women ran 4000m were lead by 4th years Krista Drechsler and Sarah Sumpter, who both crossed the line in 13:54, four seconds ahead of the next competitor. The rest of the scoring contingent of the Aggies finished not long after, with redshirt freshman Kristine Lozoya, senior Kristina Taylor, and sophomore Alycia Cridebring all crossing the line in 14:07 in 5th-‐7th place. Collectively the group scored 21 points to Sac State’s 38, to give the women their first victory of the season. The men also claimed a win against the Hornets, with senior Jon Peterson leading the way, covering the 6k course in 17:59 to win overall. Senior Axel Stanovsky finished 4th in 18:36. A pack of four Aggies moved strongly as a pack through the field, reeling many of their competitors in the last 2000m of the race. The group, since nicknamed “the four horsemen” were lead by senior Gregor Lloyd-‐Smith, who finished 5th in 18:56. He towed to the Pack of Aggies move through the field line teammates Nathan Strum, freshman Trevor Halsted, and Grayson Hough to 7th, 8th, and 9th place finishes. All four finished within four seconds of each other. The strong group effort gave the Aggies at score of 23 points over Sac State’s 36.
U C D A V I S D I S T A N C E
Sam Kearney
I can picture it in my head like it was yesterday: the image of the men’s team winning a team conference title for the first time in Aggie history. Along with this picture comes the bittersweet taste in my mouth of wanting to be up there, holding the same championship trophy, with my incredible teammates. There is something about being a senior that gives me a sense of urgency, determination, drive, and motivation that inspires me to train harder and smarter than ever before. As I walk through the gates, onto the track for my last first day of Cross Country practice I can’t help but pause to take it all in. The excitement is buzzing in the air and an all too familiar tingling sensation runs thru my legs as I look at the smiling and sleepy faces all around me. Even though no one says it out loud, we all can feel it, this is our year, the year we will come back with a fiery vengeance. Conference front running teammate Stumpy (Sarah Sumpter) puts it best, “we’re going for blood!” This will be my last time heading out to our preseason camp at Pt. Reyes, my last chance to conquer the Sky Trail that has literally left me crawling, and my last chance to inspire and light the fire under our women’s team as we discuss our seasonal goals. The picture of the men’s team hoisting the trophy above their heads as conference champions comes to mind, however this time it is the women’s team. Holding that trophy high, for the entire faithful Aggie nation to enjoy, with pride beaming from our faces. This is our year. 3
UC Davis Distance: Fortitudine Vincimus
U C D A V I S D I S T A N C E
2011 Cross Country Schedule
Aggie Open Hornet Jamboree Stanford Invite Bronco Invite NCAA Pre-‐Nationals Big West Conference Championships Doc Adams Open NCAA West Region Championships NCAA Championships
September 2nd
Women 1st; Men 1st
September 10th
Women 1st; Men 6th
September 24th
Palo Alto, CA
October 15th
Santa Clara, CA
October 16th
Terre Haute, IN
October 29th
Riverside, CA
November 5th
Davis, CA
November 12th
Palo Alto, CA
November 21st
Terre Haute, IN
Alumni, Parents, and Friends of the Aggies, The fall season is well underway here in Davis. The team has raced twice, spent an outstanding five days in Pt Reyes and
looks forward to heading off to the first days of class later this week before competing at Stanford on Saturday morning.
While the cross country team has just finished their first month together on campus, we also look forward to welcoming in the remainder of the track and field athletes as the fall quarter
begins. Student-athletes will be enjoying a cookout at Toomey Field this week, and in a few short weeks everyone will be
engaged in training as the new staff gets the ball rolling. We look forward to seeing you on campus or at a meet this fall. Go, Ags!
2011 Coaching Staff Drew Wartenburg Director of Men’s and Women’s Cross Country and Track & Field Kim Conley Assistant Men’s and Women’s Cross Country and Track & Field Coach Devin Elizondo Volunteer Assistant Men’s and Women’s Cross Country and Track & Field coach
DW
UC Davis Distance: Fortitudine Vincimus
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