Highlights: USF at the #WCCchamps |Â
Complete Results
SAN DIEGO, Calif. –
Alex Short raced to the individual title at the 2016 West Coast Conference Cross Country Championships at Tecolote Shores in Mission Bay Park on Friday afternoon.
With the victory, Short joins Cheyne Inman (2007) as the only other Don to capture the individual men's crown. Â The senior from Bicknacre, England, outkicked BYU's Jonathan Harper to pull away for the victory to help the Dons secure a third place team finish.
"I feel like you've just got to go out there and put your heart on the line," Short told theW.tv's Sarah Kezele after the race. "Then, if you come across first or 50th, you're done, it's good. You've given all you can give."
Short was in the lead pack of two dozen athletes through the first 6K, and took the lead with 2,000 meters left in the race. He closed with an impressive final 800 to clock in with a time of 24:19.4, seven seconds faster than his closest competitor.
"The race tactics this year were very similar to last year, slow at the beginning and then picked up," Short recalled of the 2015 race where he finished fourth overall. "Last year basically as soon as it picked up I was floundering a bit, my arms were getting a bit wobbly and my head was getting a bit dizzy. Whereas, this year I tried to zone it out and get some real cold, cold focus going on and then slide in like an ice cube, at the end and it worked out perfectly."
Two USF runners leapt into the Top 20, with
Edward Shepherd (25:10.3) and
Mohamed Aziz (25:14.2) coming in at 19th and 20th, respectively.
Ryan Driscoll clocked in at 29th with a time of 25:33.9, and
Ben Alcock's finish in 25:46.5 was good for 33rd, rounding out the Dons' team scoring.Â
Hugh Nicklason (38th – 26:05.0) and
Caleb McClain (39th – 26:07.4) closed out the USF contingent competing at the championships.
With five student-athletes finishing in the top seven individually, BYU earned the team title with 29 points. Portland's 45-point effort and the Dons' tally of 92 points rounded out the Top 3 team finishes.
USF returns to the course for the NCAA West Regionals on Nov. 11, at Sacramento's Haggin Oaks Golf Club. The Dons currently stand in eighth in the West Region and will race for the opportunity to earn an at-large bid to the NCAA Championships which will be contested on Nov. 19, in Terre Haute, Ind.
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Watch Short's Post-Race Interview
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USF Results – 3rd place (92 points)
1.
Alex Short – 24:19.4*
19.
Edward Shepherd – 25:10.3
20.
Mohamed Aziz – 25:14.2
29.
Ryan Driscoll – 25:33.9
33.
Ben Alcock – 25:46.5
38.
Hugh Nicklason – 26:05.0
39.
Caleb McClain – 26:07.4
*All-WCC First Team
