USF Set for WCC Championships on Saturday

Saturday, October 27

PIER PARK; PORTLAND, OR

9:00 am

University of San Francisco

WCC Championships

12XC - Bronco Invitational Team Photo - 101312

USF men's and women's cross country teams will compete in the WCC Championships this Saturday in Portland.

10/25/2012 10:42:00 AM | Cross Country

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Women's squad aims for fourth straight title; men looking for Top 3 finish

WCC Championship Central --
Course Tour --
Women's Video Preview --
Men's Video Preview --

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. – USF's men's and women's cross country teams are in their final stages of preparation for the West Coast Conference Championships, which will be held this Saturday at Fernhill Park in Portland, Ore.

The women's 6K event gets underway at 9:00 a.m. with the men's 8K race following at 9:45 a.m.

USF's women's team will be shooting for its fourth straight conference title while the men's squad hopes to join prohibitive favorites BYU and Portland in the top three.

With NCAA Regionals and Nationals just around the corner, head coach Helen Lehman-Winters is confident both teams are hitting their strides at the right time of the year heading into the first event of the championship season on Saturday.

“These are the three races we prepare all year long for,” said Lehman-Winters. “It will mean a lot to win a conference championship and be at the top of our game heading into regionals and nationals.”

The USF women's squad, which placed five runners in the top 12 in last year's event at Crystal Springs, is a veteran team that is poised to win its fourth straight conference title. Seniors Laura Suur, Hillary Kigar, Chloe Treleven and Alice Baker played instrumental roles in USF's three previous championship runs.

Eva Krchova and Maor Tiyouri round out a formidable top six, while Kate Jamboretz has been one of the team's most consistent performers this season.

Suur, who finished second in this event last season, has been sidelined all season with nagging injuries but is eager to put her training to a test on Saturday.

“I like our depth and experience,” said Lehman-Winters. “I'm happy with where we are at competitively. We are hungry to get after it. Our seniors are highly motivated to make it a clean sweep.”

While Lehman-Winters says it's “pretty much a done deal” that the men's title will decided between BYU and Portland, she hopes fifth-year seniors Ganbileg Bor and Steven Garboden, along with talented junior Jose Madera, will spark the Dons to a Top 3 finish.

“This is the best men's team we've ever had. We've never been so strong 1-4. Our goal is to finish in the Top 3.”

Bor and Garboden have both been ranked in the Top 50 in the region at various times in their career while Lehman-Winters states Madera is the best distance runner who has ever come through the program. Madera brings some momentum into Saturday's WCC Championships after winning the Bronco Invitational with a school-record time of 24:06.4.

Eric Causey, who ran a 24:58 in his first 8K event at the Stanford Invitational earlier this fall, is a contender for WCC Freshman of the Year honors.

Lehman-Winters will be counting strong performances from Jarrett Moore, Gustavo Mena and Adam Smith, along with Charlie Johansen and Nick Hicks.

First time venue Fernhill Park in Portland is a much flatter course than the hilly and rugged terrain of Crystal Springs in Belmont, which has hosted the event since its inception.

“It's a completely different course,” said Lehman-Winters. “Fernhill Park is much faster and I'm fine with that. The reality is the best team is going to win.”