Fresno State Athletics
Cross Country Wraps Up Season at NCAA Western Region
11/15/2005 12:00:00 AM | Cross Country
Nov. 15, 2005
FRESNO, Calif. -
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Fresno State Hosts Annual Awards Banquet this Week
After wrapping up its season last weekend at the NCAA Western Region, the Fresno State cross country team will celebrate its season and honor its student-athletes with its annual awards banquet on Thu., Nov. 17, 6:30 p.m. Held on campus at the Residence Dining Hall, the banquet begins with a social at 6:30 p.m. with dinner to be served at 7:00 p.m. Cost is $15 per plate. For information and reservations, phone (559) 278-4097.
2005 NCAA Western Region in Review
Making their eighth NCAA Western Region appearance in 11 years, the Bulldogs finished 25th out of 30 teams at the NCAA Western Region, which was hosted by Stanford University. All six competing Bulldogs posted season-best 6K times as 199 runners toed the line at the Stanford Golf Course. Junior Andrea Buckner (Yorba Linda, Calif.) paced the `Dogs as she finished 67th overall with a time of 22:09.2. Her mark was just six seconds off her NCAA Western Region mark from a year ago when she ran 22:03 to place 57th. Junior Zinzi Evans (Oakland, Calif.), freshman Roxanne Sellick (Fresno, Calif.), sophomore Marina Santana (Woodland Hills, Calif.), sophomore Patty Torres (Porterville, Calif.) and freshman Paloma Dominguez (Corcoran, Calif.) all notched personal-best 6K times in the final meet of the year. All five of them also made their first NCAA individual appearance while moving up the school's all-time 6K list. Evans finished 130th overall with a time of 23:17.0. Sellick was right behind and crossed the finish line with a time of 23:21.0 to place 138th. Santana clocked 24:15.0 to finish 172nd while Torres (24:26.4) and Dominguez (24:27.8) placed 176th and 177th, respectively. The top two teams of the NCAA Western Region will compete at the NCAA Championship in Terre Haute, Ind. Second-ranked Stanford won the NCAA Western Region with 24 points. Joining the Cardinal at the NCAA Championships will be No. 5 Arizona State, which was the NCAA Western region runner-up with 48 points. Other nationally-ranked teams that competed in the NCAA Western Region were No. 26 Washington, which finished third with 117 points, and No. 21 Oregon, which finished fourth with 139 points.
Buckner Garner All-WAC Honors
Buckner garnered her first career All-WAC honors after finishing eighth at the 2005 WAC Championship on Oct. 29. She ran a time of 18:12.9 and was a second team honoree. Buckner is the first Bulldog to be all-league since 2003 and became the program's ninth All-WAC selection since 1992. In addition, she became the sixth Bulldog to finish among the WAC's top 10 runners as well as posting the seventh-fastest WAC championship time by a Bulldog at the 2005 WAC Cross Country Championship.
'Dogs History at WAC Championship
In the WAC Cross Country Championships, Fresno State has finished among the top five five times since 1992. The Bulldogs best finish was fourth place in 1995. They also have four fifth-place showings (2005, '03, '01 and 1994). In 1995, Nelson had the best overall individual finish by a Bulldog (4th, 18:05). Other top 10 individual WAC finishes were recorded by Buckner (8th, 18:12.9, 2005), Kulikov (5th, 17:28, 1997), June (6th, 17:43, 2003), Kelly Jacobson (6th, 17:52, 1994) and Dina Farage (9th, 17:59, 1992).
Head Coach Joe Gonzales
In his first season as the head coach of the Fresno State women's cross country program, Joe Gonzales has been a longtime assistant with the Fresno State track program. Entering his sixth year as an assistant coach in charge of the distance runners, he also previously coached the Fresno State men's cross country program (2000-02). During his tenure as the men's cross country coach, Gonzales led the team to three top five finishes in the WAC, finishing fifth in 2001 and '02 along with a third place finish in 2000. Four runners also received All-WAC honors during that time. Prior to entering his coaching career at Fresno State, Gonzales served as a coach at Exeter Union High School. He began his coaching career at Exeter, where he started as a volunteer assistant for the cross country team in 1990. In 1995, he became the head cross country coach for both the boys and girls programs. Gonzales then served as the head track & field coach at Exeter from 1998-2000. In his 10 years at Exeter, he led the girls' cross country team to five league championships and a section title and the girls' track and field team to two league crowns. He guided the boys' cross country team to a pair of league titles. Gonzales graduated from Fresno State with a bachelor of science degree in liberal studies.
Gonzales at WAC Championships
While Gonzales is in his first year as the Fresno State head women's cross country coach, he is not a stranger to WAC Championship appearances. Gonzales coached the Bulldog men's program for three years and guided it to three top five conference finishes, including a third-place showing in 2000. In 2000 Fresno State had three runners finish among the top 12 as all three garnered All-WAC accolades. Also, in 2001 and 2002, the Bulldogs had two more all-conference honorees. On Oct. 29, Gonzales coached his first female All-WAC cross country runner in Buckner. With a fifth-place finish at the 2005 WAC Championship, Gonzales has had four consecutive top five finishes while coaching six cross country All-WAC performers.
2005 WAC Championship in Review
The Fresno State cross country team tied for fifth at the 2005 Western Athletic Conference Championship . The Bulldogs and Nevada tallied 131 points to share fifth place as the WAC title went to league newcomer Idaho, which recorded 31 points. Utah State (43 points), San Jose State (107 points) and Boise State (115 points) rounded out the top five. Fresno State had three runners finish among the top 25 in the 62-runner field on a very cold morning in Idaho. Buckner ran her second-fastest 5K time of the season when she clocked 18:12.9 to finish eighth overall. Buckner grabbed her first all-conference honor as well by picking up second team acclaim. While the program now has nine all-conference runners to its credit, she is the first Bulldog to snag All-WAC honors since 2003. Evans was the next Bulldog to finish as she, too, ran her second-fastest 5K time of the season to place 21st overall (19:01.6). Sellick, who has been the `Dogs No. 3 runner this season, posted a personal-best time of 19:02.1 and finished a spot back of Evans. Santana notched a season-best mark of 19:48.7 (39th) while Torres collected her second-fastest 5K time of the year with a 20:28.1 (47th). Junior Valeria Delgado (Clovis, Calif.) placed 51st ( 20:47.4) and Dominguez finished 52nd ( 20:56.9) to round out Fresno State's championship squad.
Xbox Live WAC Athlete of the Week
Buckner was named the Xbox Live WAC Cross Country Female Athlete of the Week on Oct. 17. This was her first conference player of the week accolade as she came off a seventh-place finish among a 118-runner field at the Cal Poly Invite with a 5K time of 18:28. This season, Buckner has one invitational crown to her credit when she captured the CS Stanislaus title on Sept. 10 with a 6K time of 22:30.
Buckner is Top 'Dog
After finishing as the Bulldogs top runner in all seven races a year ago, Buckner continued her leadership form by finishing first for Fresno State in all seven meets this season. At the NCAA Western Region, she placed 67th overall out of 199 runners with a time of 22:09.2 -- just six seconds off her personal-best mark set at the 2004 NCAA Western Region. At the WAC Championship, Buckner finished eighth out of 62 runners with a time of 18:12.9. At the Cal Poly Invitational, she finished seventh out of 118 runners with a time of 18:13.7. At UC Riverside Invite, Buckner was 10th out of 92 runners and posted a career-best time of 18:11.2. That mark also was good to rank 18th overall in the school's all-time 5K list. At the 32nd Annual Stanford Invitational, Buckner finished 46th out of 227 runners in the 6K meet after clocking 23:01. At the CS Stanislaus Invitational she captured her first career invitational win when she ran a 6K time of 22:30. Buckner became the first Bulldog to win an invitational since June captured a pair of titles in 2003. At the CS Fullerton Invitational, Buckner finished 19th (19:36.7) overall in a field of 253 runners in the 5K race. The three-time NCAA Regional qualifier owns career-best times of 18:11.2 (5K) and 22:03 (6K) with one blue ribbon and one second-place finish.
Sellick and Evans Form Top Scoring Trio
Evans and Sellick, who both ran in their first NCAA meet this season, gave Fresno State a formidable scoring trio. Evans finished second for the Bulldogs in five races while Sellick finished second twice. In addition, each have finished as one of the 'Dogs top three runners in all seven meets. In the 2-mile Watermelon Run to open the season, Sellick captured the meet crown with a time of 11:25 - five seconds off the school's freshman record set by Mary Kuphaldt in 1986. Sellick's time ranks 15th best all-time on the Bulldogs' 2-mile list. At the 2005 NCAA Western Region she set the school's 11th-best all-time 6K mark (23:21). At the 2005 WAC Championship, Sellick ran a personal-best 5K time of 19:02.1 as she finished 22nd overall in the 62-runner field. Evans, who did not run cross country in high school, set a career-best 6K time of 23:17 - a mark that ranks No. 8 all-time at Fresno State - at the 2005 NCAA Western Region. This season, both have set personal-best 5K marks as Evans clocked 18:32.6 at the UC Riverside Invitational and Sellick at the 2005 WAC Championship.
Delgado, Santana and Torres Complementing
While the top three Bulldog scoring harriers were solidified, three others who complemented the team were sophomores Santana, Torres and Delgado. At the 2005 WAC Cross Country Championship, Santana broke the 20-minute barrier for the second time this season and third time overall since 2004 when she clocked a 5K season-best time of 19:48.7 to place 39th overall. Injured at the Stanford Invitational, Santana has been one of the 'Dogs top five runners in six of seven races this year. Torres has finished among the top five runners for the Bulldogs in six meets this season and is coming off a career-best 5K run of 20:25.8 at the Cal Poly Invite. At the WAC championship, she notched her second-fastest 5K time of the year (20:28.1). Both set personal-best 6K marks at the 2005 NCAA Western Region as Santana sits No.18 all-time with a mark of 24:15 while Torres now ranks 19th after posting a time of 24:26. After competing in only two races last year, Delgado ran a season-best 5K mark of 20:09.3 at the UCR Invitational.
