CSUSM to Host A.I.I. Cross Country Championships

Cougars will clash with British Columbia in battle of NAIA powerhouses in both the men's and women's races.
11/4/2013 5:57:00 PM



SAN MARCOS, Calif.—The Cal State San Marcos men's and women's cross country teams will host their fellow conference competitors at the sixth-annual Association of Independent Institutions (A.I.I.) Conference Championships on Saturday, November 9 at the Mangrum Track and Field. The men's 8K championship will take place at 9:00 a.m., while the women's 5K race will get underway shortly thereafter at 10:00 a.m.

Date: Saturday, November 9, 2013
Time: 9:00 AM Men's 8K; 10:00 AM Women's 5K
Location: Mangrum Track & Soccer Field on the campus of CSUSM
Admission: Free (free parking available in Lot Z)
Teams participating in the championships are:

Men's 8K - 9:00 a.m. Women's 5K - 10:00 a.m.
Ashford (Iowa) Ashford (Iowa)
No. 6 British Columbia No. 1 British Columbia
No. 12 Cal State San Marcos No. 6 Cal State San Marcos
Lindenwood University-Belleville Johnson and Wales (Colo.)
Northern New Mexico Lindenwood University-Belleville
Northern New Mexico

Both the men's and women's races figure to be tight contests between perennial national title contenders and rivals British Columbia and Cal State San Marcos.

Men's Preview
No. 12 Cal State San Marcos enters the race as the five-time defending champions, yet might not even be the favorite heading into the weekend. That honor belongs to No. 6 British Columbia, who has been in the top-five all season until the most recent Coaches' Poll.

However, CSUSM is no stranger to pulling off upsets. Last year, the Cougars knocked off the favored Thunderbirds— ranked No. 2 at the time— by placing four in the top five, en route to scoring just 24 points and recording a 12-point victory. The Cougars also finished second in the 2011 NAIA National Championships after entering the competition ranked No. 8.

CSUSM also had grand success on the national level last year, placing third at the NAIA national championships in 2012. Coach Steve Scott and the Cougars believe they still are in the hunt to finish on the podium at nationals once again. The team has finished in the top-20 all 14 years of existence.

The Cougars' Western Nelson is the meet's top returner, having placed third in last year's championship. The senior three-time NAIA All-American has never won an individual A.I.I. title, but has been rounding into strong form as of late. His best A.I.I. result was a second-place finish in 2010.

Also expected to compete for the individual title is Steven Ing, last year's fourth-place finisher who has led the Cougars throughout most of this season. The sophomore from South Africa is coming off his first collegiate victory in the NAIA West Coast Jamboree, leading the Cougars to a dominant victory over several ranked opponents.

The Cougars have had the individual conference champion in each of the last four years, and CSUSM enters the race having won three of their past four competitions.

Women's Preview
The winner of this race has gone on to win each of the last four NAIA National Championships. From 2009-2011, Cal State San Marcos held off British Columbia and Simon Frasier in the conference meet and eventually went on to win three consecutive national titles. In 2012, the Thunderbirds returned the favor, surprising the Cougars and winning a national crown of their own.

British Columbia has continued to assert itself in 2013, holding the No. 1 position throughout the entire season after returning all ten of its runners from last year's A.I.I. meet. The Cougars have been in the top four all season, but dropped from No. 3 to No. 6 this week after placing third in the West Coast Jamboree, partially as a consequence of missing frontrunner Kate Bouvatte due to illness.

CSUSM had won all five of its races this season prior to last week, and still figures to be in the national title hunt, as well. The Cougars have finished in the top-four at nationals in each of the last five seasons, and have not been ranked outside the top-five in a regular season poll since the first race of the 2008 season.

Bouvatte, a junior transfer from Palomar who won the Cougar Challenge on the same CSUSM course in October, is a likely contender to be near the front of the pack, as are seniors Ayded Reyes and Heidi Swanson. The three make a dominant trio up front, but will face stiff competition from the Thunderbird pack, especially Jackie Regan and Maria Bernard, who went 1-2 in the race last season.

Reyes is the top Cougar returner from last year's championship, having finished seventh in the meet. The senior has exploded onto the national scene as a senior, winning both the UC Riverside Invitational and the Pomona-Pitzer Invitational, and finishing in the top four of every race this season.

The Cal State San Marcos cross country course is flat and fast, which also makes it fan-friendly for spectators. Admission is free, and parking is free in nearby Lot Z. Course maps can be found here, or at the bottom of the page.

Course Maps:

5K Course Map




8K Course Map

http://www.csusmcougars.com/news/2013/11/4/MXC_1104130837.aspx

Courtesy Cal State San Marcos