It's championship time!
On Saturday, ASU's men's and women's cross country teams will begin their final tune-ups before the start of the postseason. The Sun Devils will participate in the Pac-10 Championships, which will be held at the Brookside Golf Course in Pasadena, Calif.
The annual event allows Pac-10 schools to compete before the NCAA West Regional, which is scheduled to take place Nov. 16 in Palo Alto, Calif. There will be eight men's teams in competition, since Oregon State and USC do not field men's squads. On the women's side, nine teams are expected to attend because the Beavers do not have a women's squad.
"Our goal is to be in the top three," ASU head coach Walt Drenth said.
That feat should be fairly easy to attain for the No. 25 Sun Devil men's team, which finished second last year behind Stanford. Senior Fasil Bizuneh claimed runner-up honors in 2001, while senior Ronnie Buchanan and sophomore Juan Reyes finished eighth and ninth, respectively.
On the women's side, No. 17 ASU has only one place-winner returning in sophomore Desiree Davilia, who came in at the No. 22 spot last season. Three other Sun Devil female runners — Lisa Aguilera (seventh), Brianna Torres (ninth) and Kelly McDonald (10th) — finished in the top 10 last year, but all have since graduated. ASU's women's team checked in at the No. 3 spot last season behind Stanford and UA.
"The women have a decent chance (to be in the top three)," Drenth said. "Even though they are a new group, they have surprised a lot of people, and it's been a lot of fun."
Reach the reporter at katie.crane@asu.edu.
