After months of preparation and competition, the 2008 Big West Cross Country Championships will be held this weekend at the Agricultural Operations Course in Riverside. The Highlanders of UCR will serve as the host for the 40th edition of the men's race and the 26th running of the women's competition.
On the men' side, preseason favorite #23 Cal Poly looks to claim its fifth consecutive Big West championship. The Mustangs are coming off a seventh place finish at the NCAA Pre-National meet in the last event their top runners. Daniel Gonia has stepped into the lineup and produced the second-best 8K time in the conference and won two Athlete of the Week awards. With experienced veterans such as Evan Anderson, Joe Gatel, Troy Swier and Jeff Lease on the roster, the club is poised to add another conference title.
Host UC Riverside is looking to unseat the Mustangs and claim its first-ever conference title. With the sensational Chad Hall at the the forefront, the Highlanders boast what could possibly be their best club in their eight-year Division I history. Hall, who owns the top 8K time of the season to this point, is joined by the capable Michael Buell, Daniel Lindstrom, Andrew Tachias and Pedro Ramos to give UCR a top five as good as any regionally or nationally.
UC Santa Barbara, the runner-up to Cal Poly a year ago, was the last current conference school to claim the league title. Scott Smith and Julian DeRubira own top 10 6K times this season and will be counted on if UCSB is to make a run at the title.<p>
The women's race might be the most unpredictable event in recent memory as several clubs have a legitimate shot at claiming the conference title.
Defending champion UC Santa Barbara may not have the national ranking it has become accustomed to in recent years, but the Gauchos still pose a legit threat for their third consecutive title. Danielle Domenichelli leads the club with the experience of being one of UCSB's top runners in her career. Ashley Ramirez and young runners such as Breanne Strenkowski and Katie Voigtlander give the Gauchos the ammo for a title run.
Preseason favorite UC Riverside has had an excellent season to date, evidenced by the fact the Highlanders had been in the receiving votes category of the national poll for a few weeks. Brenda Martinez ,Cristina Olivas and Danielle Evans lead an experienced group ready to bring the first DI conference crown in program history.
UC Irvine and UC Davis are also in the mix for the Big West title. UCI is led by Laura Olvera, who has finished in the top three of the conference meet in each of her three previous seasons. The Aggies, who are the highest ranked conference team in the region, are led by Kim Conley and Kaitlin Gregg. The duo owns the second and third best 6K times in the conference this season, while the club has the momentum of a 12th place finish at Pre-Nationals just a couple of weeks ago.