Fresno State Athletics
Fresno State
WAC Championship (Women 5K)
Bulldog Women Finish Fifth, Men Take Sixth At WAC Championships
10/28/2006 12:00:00 AM | Cross Country
Oct. 28, 2006
Fresno, Calif. -
Freshman Frank Sanders led the men and senior Zinzi Evans led the women as Fresno State hosted the WAC Championships at Woodward Park. Utah State swept the team titles, becoming the first school to win both championships since 1999.
On a beautiful morning at Woodward Park, Utah State turned in a dominating performance to take the men's team title, placing five runners in the top eight to win their second consecutive WAC championship. However, the top time was not turned in by an Aggie, but rather by Boise State's Forest Braden, who finished the race with a comfortable lead, taking the win with a time of 24:15 over the 8K race and setting a Woodward Park course record.
"I was really happy when I crossed the line, since this was my fifth year and my last chance to win," said Braden. "Having come in third twice at this race, I was really hoping to win. I felt really good, and when our coach told us to go out hard and break some people, I knew I had a shot at the win as well as the course record."
For Fresno State, freshman Frank Sanders led the way for the men, finishing 29th overall with a time of 26:58 as the team finished sixth overall in the team competition with 178 points. Boise State finished in second place, capitalizing on Braden's performance with 37 points. Idaho, Louisiana Tech and San Jose State rounded out the rest of the top five.
Sanders set a personal best with his time today. Coming into the meet his goal was to be under 27 minutes. An 800-meter specialist on the Bulldog track and field squad with a best time of 1-minute 54-seconds expects his cross country season has established a base for him for the spring. His goal is to run under 1:50 and in a few years compete in the U.S. Olympic trials.
"I ran cross country in high school but this is completely different," said Sanders, who's been the Dogs top runner this fall. "I was pleased with my time today, but I'm just a freshman and I will get better over the next three years."
In the women's race, Idaho's Rhea Richter, a freshman from Hennstedt, Germany was the top finisher winning the 5K race with a time of 17:33. Utah State also won the women's team championship, scoring 63 points, holding off Nevada at 70 points and San Jose State with 80 to get the win.
"I dreamed before the race that maybe I could come in first," said Richter. "When I did, it was awesome. It's a good reason to call my parents back in Germany."
Evans was the top finisher for the Bulldogs, coming across the line in 12th place in 18:17, setting a personal best and earning second-team All-WAC honors in the process. Other top finishers for the Bulldogs included Meri Hawkins in 19th place and Jenny Hernandez in 23rd.
"I was pleased with the race," Evans said. "I felt strong the whole way. As a team our goal was to be in the top three, but looking at the times it was a fast course today. I was proud of the way we ran as a team. We had four girls finish under 19 minutes and one who just missed it. Running at Woodward Park is a great home field advantage. We know every turn, rock, tree and pothole on the course. The competition was tough today, though."
Evans is the only senior on either the women's or men's program, said head coach Joe Gonzales. By finishing in the top five of the WAC Championships, the women's team will advance to the NCAA Regional Championships in Portland, Ore., Nov. 11.
"First of all, it was great that the women's team qualified for (NCAA) regionals," said Gonzales. "That was a goal. We wanted to average 19 minutes as a team and we finished at 18:42 so that was great. Zinzi ran a great race. She's a senior and made All-WAC so that's a great accomplishment for her because her specialty is the 800. She really had a great day. Having the men's program back and running in the WAC Championships was good too see. We can build on this for the future. Frank ran well. He's run well all season long and for a freshman, he's going to be a good runner for us in the future."
Players Mentioned
