THE RUNDOWN

Men's Results | Women's Results  

SAN FRANCISCO – The No. 6 University of San Francisco women's cross country team finished second, just behind the No. 3 nationally ranked University of New Mexico tallying 126 points. The Dons were able to outpace three top-10 ranked schools; No. 5 Stanford, No. 7 NC State and No. 8 Providence.
 
Finishing first and second for the Dons were a familiar one-two punch of Charlotte Taylor and Weronika Pyzik, but this time they switched roles. Coming in third at the race was Taylor who finished the race with a time of 19:40.2, followed shortly after by Pyzik fifth with a time of 19:46.2.
 
Rounding out the scoring for the Dons were Isabelle Brauer (11^th – 20:02.9), Tatjana Schulte (53^rd - 20:47.2) and Lea Meyer (54^th – 20:48). Finishing in the very important displacement roles were Lizzie Bird (57^th – 20:52) and Frederique Latraverse (190^th – 22:15.8).
 
The USF men's team put in one of the strongest team performances in the programs history today. The Dons finished 18^th as a team, beating six of the top-30 ranked schools in the country including No. 15 Boise State, No. 16 Illinois, No. 18 UVA, No. 21 Indiana, No. 28 Wisconsin and No. 30 Columbia. Northern Arizona showed why they are the No. 1 ranked school in the country today, finishing in first ahead of a very competitive field. Coming in second was fellow WCC school Portland.
 
The competitive field led to some fast times for the Dons. Senior Ben Alcock led the Dons this race, finishing the race in 57^th with a time of 24:23.5, a personal best for him. Placing second and third for the Dons were newcomers Jacob Allen (81^st – 24:36.5) and Jack Rowe (107^th – 24:49.9). Rounding out the scoring runners for USF were Caleb McClain (125^th – 24:54.8) and Hugh Nicklason (129^th – 24:56.2). Alex Howard played the important displacement role, finishing 192^nd in a time of 25:26.7.

RACE FACTS: 

• Charlotte Taylor and Weronika Pyzik led the Dons for the second consecutive race. Taylor finished in third and Pyzik finished in fifth.
• The women finished ahead of seven top-10 schools; No. 5 Stanford, No. 7 NC State and No. 8 Providence.
• Ben Alcock led the way for the Dons today, coming in 57th in the race with a personal best time of 24:23.5. 
• Newcomers Jacob Allen and Jack Rowe finished 81st and 107th in the race, which was second and third respectively for the Dons. 
• The men finished ahead of No. 15 Boise State, No. 16 Illinois, No. 18 UVA, No. 21 Indiana, No. 28 Wisconsin and No. 30 Columbia on their way to an 18^th place overall finish.

COACH'S QUOTE
Head Coach Helen Lehman-Winters

On how this performance will prepare women for NCAA Championships
 
"We are happy with our runner up team performance but, honestly, we have a ton of room for improvement. I think this race provided our team with a glimpse of what we are capable of achieving this season. But, I also know they understand we have another five weeks to correct some things and get even better."
 
On how the women team performed today
 
"Charlotte, Weronika and Isabelle were very effective front but our 4-7 were not quite aggressive enough collectively and had to battle through a lot of bodies. We are pleased with where we are right now and look forward to shifting our focus to the conference championships in another two weeks."
 
On the men's performance
 
"I am so proud of how our men battled in an extremely dense and competitive field. We beat six top-30 teams and they got a taste of what they will face in a national championship field. Hopefully, some of our wins over top ranked teams from other regions will yield something in the at large selection process for the NCAA championships."
 
"We had a 33 second split between 1-5 which is pretty impressive.  In addition, every single one of our guys is only going to improve from here until the NCAA regional championships."
 
WHAT'S NEXT
 
The next race for both the men and women will be in three weeks time, when the Dons play hosts for the WCC Championships in Oakland, Calif. on Oct. 27.
 
USF Results:
WOMEN – 2^nd Place; 126 points
3. Charlotte Taylor – 19:40.2
5. Weronika Pyzik – 19:46.2
11. Isabelle Brauer – 20:02.9
53. Tatjana Schulte – 20:47.2
54. Lea Meyer – 20:48
57. Lizzie Bird – 20:52
17. Frederique Latraverse – 22:15.8
 
MEN – 18^th Place; 449 points
57. Ben Alcock – 24:23.5
81. Jacob Allen – 24:36.5 
107. Jack Rowe – 24:49.9
125. Caleb McClain – 24:54.8
129. Hugh Nicklason – 24:56.2
58. Alex Howard – 25:26.7