• printer friendly
• mail this article
• iPod format
• digg

Photo

Carmen Winant wasn’t expected to vie for the seventh spot on the UCLA women’s cross country ‘A’ team. But with her solid 15th place finish at the Triton Invitational in San Diego on Saturday, the senior earned the final spot on the roster for the Pre-NCAA meet next weekend in Terre Haute, Ind. By beating out fellow team members Sarah West and Alejandra Barrientos at Saturday’s race, Winant earned the right to travel with the team to the prestigious meet that serves as a tune-up to the NCAA Championship, to held at the same site Nov. 22. “We knew for sure which six would go to Pre-Nationals,” coach Eric Peterson said. “But both Winant and Barrientos needed another race before Pre-Nationals.” West and Barrientos had been considered the favorites for the last spot on the ‘A’ team, but Winant edged them out by six and eight seconds, respectively. Last year, Winant was the Bruins’ No. 4 runner at the NCAAs, and her finish at this race positions her to be place high again this year. “Winant had a good, solid effort at San Diego,” Peterson said, “so we’ll add her to the mix at Pre-Nationals.” The rest of the team will include this year’s consistent top performers: juniors Jenna Timinsky and Allison Hall, sophomores Alison Costello and Ashley Caldwell, and freshmen Monika Rothenburger and Olga Aulet-Leon. These seven runners will also likely be the team UCLA fields at Nationals at the end of the season. All of them sat out of the Triton invitational, preferring to take the opportunity to train for the upcoming meet. But even though many of UCLA’s top runners did not race, San Diego provided an excellent opportunity for Peterson to determine his strongest squad. In addition to the selection of Winant for the seventh spot, Saturday’s meet gave many of the team’s non-scoring runners an opportunity to compete. Senior Lori Mann, juniors Leslie Barrie, Ashley Allen and Jenny Esser, and freshman Claire Rethmeier all competed at the Triton Invitational. As a whole, the squad finished third in team competition behind Oklahoma State and Portland.

Men’s Cross Country: Senior Nick Thornton was the lone competitor for the men’s cross country team at the Triton Invitational. Without a deep enough pool for both an ‘A’ and ‘B’ squad, the Bruins could not send a full delegation to the meet. Peterson opted to have the leading scorers train during the weekend in preparation for the upcoming Pre-Nationals meet in Terre Haute, Ind., instead.