Women’s XC Wins SCIAC Multi-Dual, Men Place Second
CHINO, Calif. (Oct. 13, 2007) - Occidental College cross country teams started SCIAC competition off on the right foot with the women and men finishing first and second respectively.
Eight Oxy runners finished in the top 11 with five on the women’s side.
Leading the way for the women was sophomore Maddie Weissman who clocked in at 24:41.95, a minute off the winner’s pace. Following Weissman was a pack of four Tigers who all finished within 19 seconds of one another. Denali Halsey (24:58.50), Rachel Keylon (25:01.22), Caitlin Croall (25:11.17)and Grace Peck (25:17.25) rounded out the top five for Oxy. Junior Alison Kjeldgaard completed the course in 26:34.25, placing her 30th among all runners and sixth on the Tigers.
Senior Kevin Chaves led the way for the men as he finished the race in 26:22.45, 15 seconds ahead of his closest competitor. Crossing the finish line next for the Tigers was Keith Blumenfield at 26:45.63 followed closely by teammate Galen Smith at 26:47.66 who were fifth and sixth overall, respectively. The fourth Oxy finisher was freshman Richard Infantino (28:10.11). The fifth and sixth Tigers finishers were junior David Martinez (28:34.90) and sophomore Jon Wheeler (28:48.07).
The women’s team outscored all of its SCIAC competitors and returned to campus with a 7-0 record. Redlands is second at 6-1 and Claremont-Mudd-Scripps is 5-2.
For the men, the favored Tigers, were upset by the Stags from CMS (7-0) and sit just ahead of Pomona-Pitzer (5-2) at 6-1.
The results from today’s Multi-Dual meet account for half of the overall SCIAC finish for both teams. All runners will embrace a week off from competition as they train for the SCIAC Championships that will be held on Oct. 27 at La Mirada Park beginning at 9:00 a.m.
