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SACRAMENTO, Calif. – Despite a race in which
Eric Causey felt like he was "breathing needles", the San Francisco sophomore placed 11th individually at the NCAA West Regionals Friday at Haggin Oaks GC.
Causey, who has been ailing since Monday, finished the 10K course in 29:56 to pace the Dons on the day. He stuck with the lead pack for the duration of the race, and gutted out a solid finish that leaves his hopes of a trip to the NCAA Championships as an individual qualifier alive.
"I could not be more pleased with how
Eric Causey ran today," coach
Helen Lehman-Winters said. "He was sick as a dog all week long and he's just a nails competitor. We'll wait for the individual selections, but I think he's got a great shot and getting to the NCAA Championships as an individual. He would be the first male to represent San Francisco, which would be a huge accomplishment for our program."
Causey will learn if his sophomore season is complete or if he will continue on for one more race tomorrow when the at-large bids are extended. To qualify as an individual, a student-athlete must finish their regional in the top four individually from a non-qualifying team.
"I don't really have expectations coming into races. I just let it happen how it's supposed to happen and I never give anything but 100 percent,"
Eric Causey said after the competition. "I just feel like expectations lead you to failure a lot of the time, and if you don't have expectations you always surprise yourself.
"My goal was just to run with who I needed to be up with, and that was the front pack essentially. It was an interesting race. This is the race to make it to nationals and that's kind of the goal for everyone, and everyone was leaving it on the course. I just kept positive and gave it my best, and that paid off."
The Dons finished 16th in the team standings, earning 498 team points.
Adam Smith, redshirt junior from Poway, Calif., was the second man in Green and Gold to cross the finish, clocking in at 32:05.
Jarrett Moore,
Jimmy McManus and
Nick Hicks also counted for the team scores, with the trio separated by just three seconds.
Stanford and Oregon automatically qualified for the NCAA Championships after placing 1-2 in the team standings. Five of the top six individual finishers represented the two Pac-12 schools. The final championship field will be announced Saturday, and the selected teams and individuals will compete for the national title on Nov. 23, in Terra Haute, Ind.
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USF Results
11.
Eric Causey – 29:56
106.
Adam Smith – 32:05
124.
Jarrett Moore – 32:33
127.
Jimmy McManus – 32:34
130.
Nick Hicks – 32:36
161.
Tom Bradley – 33:58
166.
Gustavo Mena – 34:07
