All Entries Tagged With: "Cross Country"
Women’s cross country team heads to Nationals
By DANIEL GAONA
aztecpress@pima.edu
Pima Community College cross country coach Greg Wenneborg felt the men’s team was solid heading into the season but worried about the women’s team.
Now, at the end of the season, his mindset is the complete opposite.
The men’s team struggled throughout the season and failed to qualify for Nationals. It came down to injuries and the team just not being able to put it together at the right time.
On the other hand, the women used a true team effort to emerge onto the national stage. They are preparing to travel to Spartanburg, S.C., for Nationals, where they hope to place in the top five.
Pima dropped one spot to No. 11 after having an “off day” in the National Junior College Athletic Association Region 1 Championship meet. The off day meant finishing second as a team behind No. 3 Central Arizona College.
Central Arizona, the defending national champions, had six runners finish in the top 10 and is a major contender to win again.
The Aztecs had all seven runners finish within 17 places of each other at Regionals. Freshman stand-out Heidi Lopez led the way, placing 13th in 20:56.5. Sophomore Priscilla Mendoza finished right after Lopez in 20:57.2.
Priscilla Mendoza
Sophomore Julia Dittiger came in 16th and freshman Jodine Steemers finished 19th to round out the four Aztecs in the top 20. Dittiger said she’s more excited about going to Nationals this year compared to last.
“Last year we had the two superstars running but this year we’re all pretty much in a pack,” Dittiger said, referring to Danielle Higgins and Vivian Reed. “Our first through sixth runners are all within about a minute of each other so we’re pretty close and that makes us stronger.”
Last year the women placed sixth at Nationals. Higgins finished 13th to lead the way while Reed finished 21st.
Wenneborg said the team is a little banged up heading into the championship meet on Nov. 13. Sophomore Annalisa Loevenguth will travel with the team but will most likely not run due to a stress fracture. Steemers is suffering from a stress reaction but should be healthy by then.
“I think it’s definitely going to be a team effort to step up,” sophomore Julia Peerenboom said about making up for injuries. “We’re a team, we’re a family and we’re going to step up when one person is having a little trouble and we’re all going to make up for that.”
Julia Peerenboom
Wenneborg said that losing one runner isn’t too much of an issue because only the top five finishers score.
Lopez is the apparent leader of the team but still credits the team for her success. She’s confident heading into her first trip to Nationals.
“I’m confident and excited but at the same time scared,” Lopez said. “I’m scared of not running well. I don’t want to mess up.”
Peerenboom and Dittiger reassured Lopez that the team wouldn’t let her down and said they are going in as positive as possible.
“The thing we have really going for our team is we have really good chemistry,” Dittiger said.
The two also looked back to the beginning of the season when Wenneborg told them he thought it was going to be tough getting to Nationals.
“It just shows that if you work hard enough you can get anything you set your mind to,” Peerenboom said.
Aside from running at Nationals the team is looking forward to the trip across the country.
Freshman Rachel Whitford said the Mt. Sac meet on Oct. 15 in Walnut, Calif., was one of the highlights of the season. It also was a factor in molding the team nucleus.
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Regionals a vital meet for men’s Cross Country
By Daniel Gaona
Photo by Ed Adams
aztecpress@pima.edu
While the Pima Community College women’s cross country team already has secured a trip to Nationals, the men’s squad needs a huge finish to qualify.
Both teams will travel to Riverview Park in Mesa on Nov. 2 for the National Junior College Athletic Association Region 1 Championship meet.
The women are currently ranked No. 10 and have already booked a trip to Spartanburg, N.C. The men’s team, however, needs to beat Mesa Community College at the Nov. 2 meet in order to join the women.
“It’s never been more make-or-break for our guys team,” head coach Greg Wenneborg said. “We’ve taken a guys team every year and they’ve always finished in the top 15 for the last five years.”
Wenneborg said the men are ranked No. 20 but he feels they are better. The Aztecs have to move up five spots in order to go.
“Their upside potential is still very big but it comes down to beating a top 15 team and that is Mesa,” he said. “I’ve always believed we have the ability to beat Mesa on a good day but we haven’t put it all together.”
Injuries have been a factor for the men. Both Nate Corsi and Andy Lacy are dealing with foot issues but Wenneborg expects them to be ready.
“I think our top seven will line up healthy at the Region championship and take their best shot at Mesa,” Wenneborg said. “I know that when all our guys are on board, we are better than them.”
Paradise Valley Community College and Central Arizona College should finish first and second on the men’s side. Wenneborg said both of those teams will also place in the top four at Nationals. Pima would need to finish third.
Humberto Bravo
“We have proven before that our late-season heroics are better than Mesa’s,” Wenneborg said. “I believe we are a finishing team and we have a pretty good shot at beating them on their home course.”
Last season, the women’s team never beat Mesa. However, the Aztecs placed three spots higher than the Thunderbirds at Nationals. This year’s women’s squad has been dominant from the start.
“Even though the women are ranked 10th, there are only three teams in the country who have a faster fifth runner than Pima does,” Wenneborg said. “I think they are not ranked correctly and on a great day they can be a top five team and potentially a top three team.”
He said the key to the women’s success is the team’s depth. It will also be essential for Pima’s success at Nationals.
“We have seven full-fledged weapons there,” Wenneborg added. “All of them can run under 19:30 and if you get five girls who run under that you’re going to be in the top four easily.”
The women are also dealing with minor injuries. Annalisa Loevenguth and Julia Peerenboom have foot injuries but are expected to be ready for both races.
Freshman Heidi Lopez has given the women a solid boost with her performance. Lopez led the Aztecs with a third-place finish in 19:43.5 at the Mesa Thunderbird Classic Oct. 21, which was hosted by MCC. Pima edged Central by five points to win the meet.
“We’ve done very well in the past few races so we don’t need to change anything,” Lopez said about preparing for Regionals and Nationals. “I go into every race prepared to run well. I don’t know who I have to beat or who I can stay with. I just run.”
Wenneborg said Lopez is a big reason for the women’s success so far. He expects her to finish in the top five of the region and top 20 at Nationals.
The men struggled at the Mesa meet and placed fourth. The host, the Thunderbirds, won the race meanwhile. Mario Portillo placed ninth in 27:05.3.
Portillo also feels that Mesa is beatable. He said endurance will be a big factor because the team has been struggling after the first three miles of its races.
“Something has been happening in the fourth mile and we all mess up,” he said.
Additionally, he said things haven’t been coming together at the right time but he feels that will change on Nov. 2.
“We just have to be mentally strong,” Portillo said. “We know how fast we are because we’ve been having awesome workouts. So I think it’s just getting the guys mentally prepared and that’s what we’re trying to do.”
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Cross Country teams in different places
Editor’s note: on Oct. 14 the men’s cross country team reentered the rankings at No. 18
By Daniel Gaona
Photos by Ed Adams
With only two meets left in the regular season, the Pima Community College men’s and women’s cross country teams are in different places.
The men are currently unranked. Men’s and women’s head coach Greg Wenneborg said the squad needs to break into the top 15 within the next few weeks so it can go to nationals.
“In order to get ranked we need five guys under 27:30 for eight-kilometers but they haven’t done it yet,” Wenneborg said. “I still believe we can easily do that. Of those five, I’m sure that two can run under 26:30 on the right day.
“We just haven’t hit on all cylinders and keep having little setbacks,” he added. “It’s been a very bizarre season that way but they’re really close to popping a big one.”
Wenneborg said the only way to make it into the top 15 is to beat No. 20 Mesa Community College handily.
On the other hand, the women are the No. 9 team nationally but aren’t at 100 percent.
Injuries have been on and off with sophomores Julia Peerenboom and Annalisa Loevenguth. Peerenboom is still nursing a sore foot and Loevenguth has had issues with her calf.
Additionally, sophomore Magda Mankel is still waiting for her dual enrollment to be cleared.
“We really need her and we’re being as patient as we possibly can be,” Wenneborg said.
Wenneborg hopes to have everyone by the time Nationals roll around in the middle of November. He feels a complete women’s team would easily finish in the top five.
“If we get everyone eligible and healthy, this is a very dangerous team,” he said.
Pima will travel to Walnut, Calif., on Oct 15 for the Mt. SAC Invitational. Rather than the standard 5k for the women and 8k for the men, it will be three miles for the women and four miles for the men.
Wenneborg said since it’s an off-distance race the times won’t help in the rankings but the placings could.
“I think the guys and the girls could be top three finishers at this meet and that would help our rankings,” he said. “It’s a good opportunity to go out there and run fast on a course that is challenging.”
Andy Lacy
On Oct. 21, the Aztecs will have their final regular season meet at Mesa. They will return to Mesa for the National Junior College Athletic Association Region 1 Championship meets on Nov. 2.
The Aztecs traveled to Tempe to race in the Grand Canyon University Invitational on Oct. 9. The women won the meet and the men placed second behind Mesa.
Freshman standout Heidi Lopez led the way for the women finishing fourth in 19.31.98. Sophomore Priscilla Mendoza placed fifth and freshman Rachel Whitford finished sixth.
Peerenboom and Loevenguth both missed the race. Mankel was unattached and ran 19:37.77.
The men’s team had an improved showing at the meet. Wenneborg said the team made the decision to run as a pack and the top four finished within seven spots of each other.
Sophomore Mario Portillo finished seventh in 27:12.52. Sophomore Jess Montour and freshman Humberto Bravo placed ninth and 11th respectively.
The women took second while the men were fourth at the Arizona Community College Athletic Conference Championship meets on Oct. 2 in Scottsdale.
Mendoza and sophomore Julia Dittiger finished eighth and ninth respectively leading the Pima women. Freshman Andy Lacy was the top finisher for the Aztecs on the men’s side at 15th place.
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Cross country teams open season in top 14
Editor’s note: the women’s team fell to No. 6 and the men fell to No. 25 in the rankings released on Sept. 15
Story and photos by Daniel Gaona
One race into the season, Pima Community College men’s and women’s cross country head coach Greg Wenneborg has mixed feelings.
The Aztecs will race for the second time this season on Sept. 17 at the Dave Murray Invitational, which is hosted by the University of Arizona.
Julia Dittiger
The event will be held at the Randolph Golf Course, 600 S. Alvernon Way. The women are scheduled to start at 5 p.m. and the men at 5:45 p.m.
Pima opened the season at the George Kyte Invitational in Flagstaff on Sept. 4. Wenneborg saw both good and bad.
The good came on the women’s side as four Aztecs finished their 5k race under 20:50. With the strong performance, the women earned the No. 5 spot in the national rankings.
“I think it was a generous ranking because some teams have not run yet but I think the girls can stay there because I think there is a lot of improvement left,” Wenneborg said. “We’ve got seven strong girls that could all potentially be a top finisher for us on any day.”
The bad came from the men’s squad, which is currently ranked 14th in the first poll of the season.
“The guys had an off day in Flagstaff,” Wenneborg said. “Luckily other teams in the conference had a little bit of an off day too.”
Wenneborg feels the men have a lot of room to improve and he’s cautiously optimistic about them.
“They’ve got a ways more to go and a little more time to put in to make it into the top 10,” he said. “We have the potential but the guys are going to need to find their heart.”
Sophomore Mario Portillo took the top spot for Pima on the men’s side in 29:10.9, although he wasn’t thrilled with finishing 36th.
“It was actually a very bad race,” Portillo said. “I was not happy with it because I was shooting for the top 20.”
He’s hoping to make up for the poor performance in the coming races.
“Training has been going good so I am hoping the next race goes better,” Portillo said. “I need my redemption because it was a horrible race.”
Freshman Andy Lacy finished two spots behind him in 29:19.4. Angel Camargo, also a freshman, placed 53rd in 30:40.8.
Portillo thinks the team will be much improved by the midpoint of the season.
“I think we’re really strong but it’s early in the season, so it’s kind of hard to tell right now,” Portillo said. “Right before regionals is when we’ll be able to tell how good we’ll be. The end of the season is when we’re supposed to be strong.
“A major goal is to do really good at nationals, top 10 as a team and top 20 individually.”
Julia Dittiger was the top Aztec on the women’s side. She placed 25th in 20:13.2, which she said was a minute better than her finishing time last year in Flagstaff.
“I ran the race about a minute faster than last year so I was excited about that,” Dittiger said. “We had been doing hill workouts and I just felt really prepared for it.”
Dittiger said the women did well because they stayed within seconds of each other. Freshman Heidi Lopez placed 27th in 20:17.1 and sophomore Annalisa Loevenguth finished 28th in 20:28.2. Twenty-three seconds later, Julia Peerenboom placed 35th.
“It makes it a lot easier to run when you’re in a pack of your own teammates,” Dittiger said. “It’s important to run as a pack because you’re stronger that way. Other runners are more intimidated by you if you’re coming by with three Pima runners at a time.”
She felt the hill workouts were essential to the solid performance at Northern Arizona University.
“They helped out quite a bit because the elevation really hits you when you’re up there,” Dittiger said. “It’s hard to run up there because the air is thinner and it makes it hard to breathe.”
“Doing hill workouts, you feel that same thing because you’re exerting your energy a lot so you just build up a bigger endurance,” she added.
Sophomore Magda Mankel ran the race unattached and placed 18th in 19:48.5. She is waiting for her dual enrollment with PCC and the UA to come through. Wenneborg hopes to have her on the roster soon.
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Online Extra: Aztecs earn Academic All-American accolades
Story and photo by James Kelley
Five Pima Community College student athletes were recognized as National Junior College Athletic Association Academic All-Americans.
Freshman Megan Carney of women’s cross country and track and field, sophomore Andrea Benjamin from women’s basketball, sophomore Gabrielle Siltanen and sophomore Lucas Volk from track and field and softball sophomore Kaity Ingram were named Academic All-Americans.
Andrea Benjamin
The prerequisites for Academic All-American are: attending at least three full-time semesters, completion of at least 45 class hours, competed for at least one season and a grade point average of at least 3.60.
Ingram and Benjamin were on the Distinguished All-American list, with a GPA of at least 3.80.
ONLINE EXTRA: 2010 Cross Country results
Photo by Daniel Gaona
Women ranked No. 9, men ranked No. 20
Sep 4 George Kyte Invitational – Buffalo Park – Flagstaff W 2nd; M 2nd
Sep 17 Dave Murray Invitational – University of Arizona – Tucson W 3rd; M 8th
Oct 2 *ACCAC Championship – Scottsdale CC – Scottsdale W 2nd; M 4th
Oct 9 Grand Canyon University Invitational Evelyn Hallman Park – Tempe W 1st M 2nd
Oct 15 Mt. SAC Invitational – Mt. SAC CC – Walnut, CA W 2nd M 5th
Oct 22 Mesa Thunderbird Classic – Mesa CC- W 3rd M 4th
Nov 5 *NJCAA Region I Championships Riverview Park- Mesa W 2nd M 4th
Nov 13 NJCAA National Championships – Spartanburg CC – Spartanburg, SC W 9th
Tucson meets in BOLD
*ACCAC conference meet
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