Palacio All-Big West; Women Sixth
Strong Showing For Women; Men Finish 8th October 27, 2001
SAN LUIS OBISPO, CA-- Long Beach State's Drea Palacio (Fresno, CA) earned all-conference honors at the Big West Championships on Saturday morning, finishing 10th on the 5K course with a time of 18:49.9. The women's team finished in sixth place their highest conference finish since 1993, it was also their first all-conference performer since Stacy Pando's third place showing in the 1993 event. The men's team finished in eighth place as Aaron Durham (Long Beach, CA) finished in 28th place with a time of 27:22.4 on the 8K course. Both squads will head to Tucson, AZ for the NCAA Regionals in two weeks. "Drea's performance (in earning all-conference) was her primary goal and its something we've wanted for awhile. Its satisfying when you get it," said director Andy Sythe, now in his 13th season. "Drea made it happen. She is a ferocious competitor and when she wants something, you know she's going to give it great effort." For the women's team, who had run a strong race on the same course two weeks ago, Sythe says they have confidence heading into Regionals. "It's a big day for them. They moved up another place from last year, but most of all our improvement, both time and score, will give us confidence heading into Regionals." Sharon Burnett (Springfield, OR) finished in 31st place with a time of 19:36.2. while Jaclyn Pedersen (Simi Valley HS/Royal HS) was 35th with a time of 19:45.6. The women's team finished with 170 total points as Cal Poly won the team event and UCSB's Katie Appenrodt won the race with a time of 17:47.8. On the men's side, despite a disappointing eighth place showing (197 points), the team adjusted to mistakes they made two weeks ago. "I am not pleased or satisfied with their place... but they did show some nice improvement. I'm unhappy with our place, not with our team" said Sythe, who's men's team improved its gap between its top five runners from 1:53 to 1:08. "Two weeks ago our top-three ran smart and consistent, but our strength--our depth-- didn't. This time our depth made adjustments which they are now able to apply to future races." Durham was followed by Arturo Garcia (Chino, CA) who finished with a time of 27:36.9 for 36th place and Brian Stehmeier (Running Springs, CA) who finished in 46th place with a time of 27:53.6. UCSB won the men's event as Eric Gans won with a time of 25:56.4 for the Gauchos. TEAM SCORES ? MEN 8K (of 9) 1. UC Santa Barbara-28 2. Utah State-34 3. Cal Poly-78 4. CS Fullerton-111 5. Idaho-157 6. UC Riverside-167 7. UC Irvine-187 8. LONG BEACH STATE-197 9. CS Northridge-280 INDIVIDUAL 49ERS Winner--Eric Gans, UCSB 25:56.4 28. Aaron Durham, LBSU 27:22.4 36. Arturo Garcia, LBSU 27:36.9 46. Brian Stehmeier, LBSU 27:53.6 51. Terrance Wroblewski, LBSU 28:15.8 55. Jacob Kruczynski, LBSU 28:31.6 63. Matt Bates, LBSU 29:09.9 68. Kenny Lawrence, LBSU 29:42.9 TEAM SCORES ? WOMEN 5K (of 9) 1. Cal Poly-37 2. UC Irvine-65 3. UC Santa Barbara-89 4. Utah State-94 5. CS Northridge-97 6. LONG BEACH STATE-170 7. CS Fullerton-179 8. Idaho-231 9. UC Riverside-248 INDIVIDUAL 49ERS Winner--Katie Appenrodt, UCSB 17:47.8 10. Drea Palacio, LBSU 19:49.9 31. Sharon Burnett, LBSU 19:36.2 35. Jaclyn Pedersen, LBSU 19:45.6 53. Diane Mendoza, LBSU 20:31.1 54. Jennifer Yadon, LBSU 20:32.6 57. Veronica Capron, LBSU 20:49.4 65. Molly Roche, LBSU 21:18.7 | 
