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Miller Second To Lead Men To Fourth
Oct. 28, 2006
Complete Men's Results in PDF Format
Complete Women's Results in PDF Format
BELMONT, Calif. - Gonzaga University's Joe Miller finished second and the Bulldog men captured fourth Saturday at the West Coast Conference Cross Country Championship at Crystal Springs Golf Course. The Bulldog women were seventh with senior Nellie Ballou finishing 22nd to lead the Bulldogs. The University of Portland swept both meets for the fifth straight year. The men's squad extended its remarkable run of league crowns to 28 straight seasons, while the women's team took first place for the fifth straight season and the 10th time in the last 11 years. This year's women's competition marked the first time in WCC Championship history that the race was run over a 6K course. Miller covered the 8K course in 25:28 to equal the school mark in the WCC Championship. It was Miller's third straight Top 10 finish to again earn All-WCC accolades. He was sixth last season and third in 2004. Colby Litzenberger was 12th in 26:22, Baraka Poulin 20th in 26:45, freshman Brett Withers 24th in 26:50 and Gabe Hayden 26th in 26:59 to round out the top five Bulldogs. Four Portland runners finished among the top five to lead the Pilots. Individual champion Mike Quackenbush led the way for the Pilots, notching a time of 25:19 to become the 28th straight Portland harrier to take first place at the WCC Championship. Senior Brendan Robinson captured third place with a time of 25:52, while Tommy Betterbed earned WCC Freshman of the Year honors by finishing first among first-year runners in fourth place with a 25:55 mark. The Pilots had 24 points, followed by the University of San Francisco 63, Santa Clara University 75 and Gonzaga with 84. Loyola Marymount University was fifth (105), Pepperdine University sixth (177), the University of San Diego seventh (203) and Saint Mary's College eighth (242). On the women's side, Ballou was 22nd in 23:53 and junior Kara Rasmussen 32nd in 24:23. Freshman Emmylyn Bentley was 34th in 24:26. Three Pilot runners posted top-four finishes the Portland women stormed to its 17th WCC title with a team score of 36. Sifrash Ademe was the top UP finisher in second place with a mark of 22:34 and was followed closely by teammates Bobeya Krishnek (22:34) and Dana Morgan, who earned WCC Freshman of the Year honors by being the top finishing first year runner with a time of 22:35 to capture fourth place. Gonzaga had 189 points in seventh place, one point behind sixth-place SMC. USF was second behind Portland with 52 points. The top 10 finishers in each race earned All-WCC honors, while the No. 11-15 finishers received All-WCC honorable mention recognition. Portland swept the WCC Coach of the Year honors in addition to the Freshman of the Year awards, with men's coach Rob Conner and women's coach Ian Solof receiving accolades.
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