No. 9 Pilots Earn Automatic Bid to NCAA Championships
SEATTLE, Wash. --- On a cool, sunny Friday afternoon at the Jefferson Park Golf Course, the No. 9 Portland Pilots secured a trip back the NCAA Cross Country Championships with a second place finish at the West Regionals. Three Pilots garnered All-Region honors en route to sending Portland to its eighth straight National Championship appearance and 14th overall appearance.
Portland began its move shortly after the 6k split. Sitting just outside the top four teams, Scott Fauble and David Perry made their moves, catching Oregon at 127 points as the 8k splits were reported.
“David and I just tried to stay controlled and not bite off more than we could chew.” Fauble said postrace. “We caught a few guys in the last kilometer.”
Perry chimed in, “It was a lot of patience. There’s a huge difference in that last kilometer and you have to be ready for it.”
As the runners barreled down the final 1000 meters, the suspense intensified. After Arizona’s Lawi Lalang cruised to a 29:02 first-place finish, his teammate Stephen Sambu led the chase pack with a 29:38.
Stanford, which claimed the team title, placed six runners in the top 16, but the rest of the ensuing chase pack was so crowded that enthusiastic fans attempted to calculate team scores on their phones from the individual finishes on the scoreboard.
Oregon had two runners finish in the top ten, followed by Fauble in ninth and Perry in tenth. Senior Lars Erik Malde finished with a strong 100m to secure his third straight All-Region honors and an 18th place finish. Trailing closely behind, a trio of UCLA runners threw the Bruins’ into the mix for the second automatic bid by placing 21, 22, and 23.
When the results were announced, Portland had improved 20 points, finishing with 107 to earn the automatic bid while UCLA (128) slipped past Oregon (135) for third place.
“I’m proud of guys today,” head coach Rob Conner said. “We ran controlled and smart. I knew it was going to be very close and we showed a lot of strength and endurance in the last six minutes of the race.
Fauble added, “We’re excited to take the momentum with us to nationals.”
Portland will head to Louisville, Ky., next Saturday for the 2012 NCAA Cross Country Championships at E.P. Tom Sawyer State Park. Scheduled for 1:15 (EST), the Pilots aim to improve upon last year’s eighth place finish.
2012 NCAA West Regionals
Men’s 10k
Jefferson Park Golf Course
Seattle, Wash.
Pilots Results (107 points, 2nd place)
9. Scott Fauble; 29:54
11. David Perry; 29:58
18. Lars Erik Malde; 30:10
26. Woody Kincaid; 30:18
43. Jared Bassett; 30:30
(55). Charlie McDonald; 30:39
(82). Jacob Smith; 31:13
