KYLE TREMBLEY
PRIDE S TAFF WRITER
Coach Steve Scott’s Cal State San Marcos women’s cross-country team has won its second-straight NAIA National Championship, bringing the University its second team championship.
Running at Fort Vancouver (WA) on Saturday, the Cougars bested a field of the NAIA’s 32 best teams for the second consecutive season to take home the title again.
Though CSUSM entered the race with a #1 national ranking, it was thought to be a toss-up between the Cougars, #2-ranked Biola, and #3-ranked Azusa Pacific.
Unlike those two squads – and unlike its own 2009 National Championship winning team – CSUSM entered this year’s race without a “signature” runner. Instead, the Cougars came in relying on their phenomenal depth to execute a “pack running” strategy, in which all five scoring runners kept each other in sight throughout the entire 5K race.
It’s a strategy that comes naturally to Coach Scott’s talented team, and it worked to perfection on Saturday.
Coach Scott came in hoping his five scoring runners would finish in the top-50 – on Saturday, they did that and more. After winning the 2009 by the slimmest margin in the history of the championship, the Cougars won 2010 in a rout. CSUSM’s finished with a team total of 88 points, which was 39 points better than second-place Biola’s 127, and over 60 ahead of third place Black Hills State. Azusa Pacific placed 6th.
By finishing in the top-30 overall (including individuals), CSUSM’s top-three runners earned All-American status.
Leading the way was Cady Villarreal. An All-American last season, The junior had not finished first on the team in any race this season. That changed at Nationals, with Villarreal running 18:18 to place 8th in the field.
Second on the team was Kelly Thompson, who crossed the finish line 8 seconds after Villarreal to place 15th at 18:30. Thompson, a sophomore who led CSUSM to a win at its Conference Championship earlier this month, has proven time and again that she will come through at big meets, and she did so on Saturday.
In 2009, Thompson was the wild card that keyed CSUSM’s national championship. In 2010, that honor belongs to Carol Schryver, who ran a fantastic 18:33 to finish 17th in the field. While Schryver was expected to be in the team’s top-five runners, for her to finish third on the team and in the overall top-20 was a huge boost to Coach Scott’s team.
Fourth was reliable Jessica Sandoval, who has been the team’s most consistent runner throughout the season. Sandoval finished 19th at 18:36.
Finally, newcomer Suzanne Cornwall sealed the victory for the Cougars. Coming to CSUSM all the way from Maryland, Cornwell took 29th in the field, and when she crossed the finish line at 18:47, the team victory was secured.
Also competing for the Cougars were Jen Albright (79th; 19:26) and Chelsey Cortez (84th; 19:29).
“In professional sports, the hardest thing to do is repeat. The next hardest thing is to be ranked first and win,” commented Coach Steve Scott. “The girls overcame a lot, and lived up to all the expectations. I can’t be prouder of them.”
CSUSM becomes the first NAIA school to repeat as women’s cross-country National Champions since Simon Fraser (B.C.) won five straight from 2007-2007.
Shorter’s (GA) Justyna Mudy won her second-straight individual title with a time of 17:42.