The ASU cross-country teams followed their game plan during this weekend's competition.
ASU Coach Walt Drenth said their goal was to finish in the top three and that's exactly what the teams did. The women's team ended up in second place at the Pac-10 Championships in Pasadena, Calif., while the men came in third.
"I'm really pleased with both groups," ASU head coach Walt Drenth said. "I felt like the intensity was really high, they followed race plans well and were very purposeful."
The ASU women's squad is young, but they have exceeded many people's expectations this season. The second-place finish was their highest at the conference meet since 2000. Freshman Jessica Scalzo led the ASU women with a sixth-place finish with a time of 20:53.
Rounding out the rest of the Sun Devil top five was freshman Amy Hastings in the No. 10 spot (21:11), senior Desiree Davila finished 12th (21:19), junior Cynthia Antencio came in 15th (21:22), while freshman Liz Lundgren finished 16th (21:23).
"For the women to have seven people finish in the top 25 is a very competitive performance," Drenth said. "If they continue running as they have been I think they have a legitimate chance of a high-place finish at the nationals."
The ASU women's team finished in second behind Stanford with 59 points. It was the lowest point total for the women's team in the history of the program. The previous record was 62 points in 2000.
In addition, Scalzo's sixth-place finish was the fifth consecutive year that an ASU woman finished in the top 10.
The ASU men finished with a team total of 85 points. It was the second consecutive finish in the third spot. Stanford claimed the No. 1 spot with 19 points and Oregon came in second (51).
Senior Fasil Bizuneh was the top Sun Devil for the men as he come in 10th with a time of 24:03. It was the third time in his four-year career that he has led the men's team.
Following Bizuneh was sophomore J.J. Duke in the No. 13 spot (24:20). Freshman Aaron Aguayo finished 16th (24:28), freshman Ryan Warrenburg came in 25th (24:47) and senior Ronnie Buchanan finished in the 28th spot with a time of 25:01.
Jessica Scalzo finished sixth and claimed first-team all-conference honors.
"With Jessica Scalzo getting first-team honors, it was a great run for her as a freshman," Drenth said.
Teammates Amy Hastings and Desiree Davila claimed second team honors. Fasil Bizuneh also received second-team all-conference honors.
Reach the reporter at katie.crane@asu.edu.
