For Immediate Release \\ Wednesday, October 24, 2012 Contact \\ Natalia Ciccone ([email protected]); Peter Soroko, UCLA Sports Information ([email protected]) 2012 PAC-12 MEN’S & WOMEN’S CROSS COUNTRY CHAMPIONSHIPS Saturday, Oct. 27, 2012 Robinson Ranch Golf Course, Santa Clarita, Calif. Hosted by the UCLA RACE SCHEDULE COURSE DESCRIPTION TELEVISION COVERAGE 8:00 a.m. Course open The Robinson Ranch Golf Course is the site of the Tape-delayed coverage of the championships will 9:25 a.m. Women called to start 2012 Pac-12 Men’s & Women’s Cross Country air on the Pac-12 Networks on the following dates: 9:35 a.m. Women !nal instructions Championships. The Mountain Course is one of two 9:40 a.m. Start of Women’s 6,000-meter race golf courses on the Robinson Ranch property. The Nov. 5 - 6 p.m. PT 10:25 a.m. Men called to start men’s 8k race consists of three-2k loops and two-1k Nov. 6 - 7 p.m. PT 10:35 a.m. Men !nal instructions loops. The women’s 6k race consists of two-2k loops Nov. 7 - 11 p.m. PT 10:40 a.m. Start of Men’s 8,000-meter race and two-1k loops. The course consists of rolling Nov. 8 - 6 a.m. PT 11:45 a.m. Awards Ceremony fairways, no elevation gain and several sharp turns. Nov. 8 - 11 a.m. PT 43rd-ANNUAL MEN’S RACE 27th-ANNUAL WOMEN’S RACE The Pac-12’s 43rd-annual men’s championships is set to be as competitive The Pac-12’s 27th-annual women’s championships is set to be as competitive as as ever. COLORADO is coming in as the team to beat, having claimed the 2012 ever. COLORADO is the defending champion but a repeat performance of will be crowns. The Buffs’ repeat bids will be challenging, however, as the Conference tough to replicate with four Pac-12 teams ranked in the top six and half the !eld boasts three men’s teams ranked in the top 10 in the nation. earning a national ranking. WASHINGTON spent time at No. 1 in the polls for Though many of the top men’s competitors from last year do not return, several weeks this season, and the experienced runners in the race will make for some of this year’s runners are ready to emerge and lead their respective an exciting competition that’s shaping up to be one of the elite races of the year. teams. In doing so, however, the !eld will have to get past reigning NCAA and In addition to a tough team !eld, the individual competition will be just as gruel- Pac-12 Champion Lawi Lalang from Arizona, who has been dominant in his ing. The !eld is stacked as eight of the top-10 !nishers from last year’s champion- two collegiate seasons. ships return. Headlining some of those competitors are 2011 Pac-12 Champion COLORADO is peaking at the right time, coming into the Pac-12 Champion- WASHINGTON’s Katie Flood, 2010 Pac-12 Champion and 2011 NCAA runner-up ships ranked No. 2 in the country after winning the Pre-National Invitational in Jordan Hasay of OREGON, and Olympian Shalaya Kipp from COLORADO. Louisville a couple of weeks ago in dominating fashion. It is the Buffs’ highest The Huskies look to be the favorite in the race with the reigning individual ranking since 2007. champion leading the charge, and six of seven runners who ran in last year’s No. 3 STANFORD won the Wisconsin Invitational, paced by twins Jim and competition returning. UW was the NCAA runner-up, placing second by just eight Joe Rosa. Joe, a sophomore, competed at last year’s Pac-12 Championships, points behind the national champions, the closest margin of victory since 1998. helping the team to a second-place !nish, just seven points behind the Buffs. With Hasay leading the way, OREGON is always in the hunt. A previous Jim redshirted last year but is having a strong year in his !rst-collegiate season. league champion herself, she !nished third at the Pac-12 meet last year but The Cardinal seems to have bounced back from the loss of All-American Chris ended the season !nishing just 0.4 seconds from claiming the national title. Derrick. ARIZONA has seen big improvements the last several years was ranked as high No. 8 OREGON comes into the championships riding a wave of con!dence as No. 2 in the country this year after winning the Greater Louisville Classic where after a top-three !nish at the Pre-National Invitational. Though the Ducks lose it !nished ahead of the then-No. 1 Huskies. four-time All-American Luke Puskedra, Oregon is putting together a good sea- STANFORD continues to be a strong candidate for the league title. The Car- son that makes them a threat for the Pac-12 title. dinal has plenty of experience, starting with senior All-American Kathy Kroeger No. 15 UCLA jumped 12 spots in the latest poll and has been gaining mo- and sophomore Aisling Cuffe. mentum all season, posting solid results at the Wisconsin Invitational, and most No. 20 COLORADO can not be overlooked with senior Shalaya Kipp on the recently posting a second-place showing at the Titan Invitational. roster. Kipp was the team’s top !nisher last year, as four Buffs crossed the !nish ARIZONA has two of the strongest runners in Pac-12 history, with Lawi Lal- line in the top 15 to run away with the title. Kipp went on to have a memorable ang and Stephen Sambu on the roster. The duo are the last two Athletes of the year, earning a spot on the U.S. Olympic team and competing at the London Year and Newcomers of the Year. Games in the steeplechase. ARIZONA STATE has fallen short of the NCAA Championships the last two UCLA jumped to No. 24 in the poll after a strong !nish at the Wisconsin In- years. Senior Darius Terry looks to bounce back from injuries that sidelined him vitational. ARIZONA STATE looks to 2012 Pac-12 Newcomer of the Year Shelby during the NCAA West Regional and NCAA Championships last year. Houlihan to lead a young team with just two seniors. CALIFORNIA has an experienced roster, and it shows in results. Different OREGON STATE returns only three runners who competed at last year’s champi- runners have led the team in races this year. WASHINGTON’s most recent re- onships, but welcome school-record holder in the 10,000 meter in track and !eld sult saw the Huskies defeat three ranked teams and tie a fourth at the Wiscon- junior Sandra Martinez who missed last year because of injury. USC will look to se- sin Invitational. Seniors Joey Bywater and Rob Webster Jr. have been setting nior Shelby Buckley, sophomore Erica Capellino and newcomer Katerina Berdousi. the pace for the Huskies. Capellino and Buckley traded off last year as the team’s top !nishers at meets. WASHINGTON STATE is coming off one of its most successful season since UTAH’s Amanda Mergeart earned an individual NCAA bid last year and 2006 and is under the direction of a new coach in Tim Riley. WSU looks to a placed 10th at the Pac-12 Championships. She could threaten the individual few experienced runners in junior Andrew Gonzales, senior Andrew Kimpel and title, and her lead could help the Utes move up the standings. sophomore Todd Wake!eld. CALIFORNIA is coming off one of its best seasons in more than 20 years, but the Golden Bears lost a pair of All-Americans and lack experience. WASH- INGTON STATE will draw from a squad that has plenty of experience, with every Cougar who competed at last year’s league championships returning. USTFCCCA RANKINGS PAC-12 TELEVISION COVERAGE ... For the !rst time ever, the Pac-12 Men’s and Women’s Cross Country Championships will be on television, with tape-delayed coverage of the championships airing on the Pac-12 MEN’S (Oct. 16) Networks (list of air times are listed on page 1). Dwight Stones will serve as the analyst, while Jim Watson Rank School (1st Place) Points Lst Wk will provide play-by-play. 1. Oklahoma State (6) 353 2 2. COLORADO (4) 343 7 PAC-12 LIVE COVERAGE ... Exclusive content on every Pac-12 men’s and women’s cross country team will 3. STANFORD (2) 339 8 be available on the Pac-12’s of!cial website at www.pac-12.com. Hover over the ‘Events’ tab on the naviga- 4. Iona 322 5 tion bar and click on ‘Cross Country’ or click on the link: http://championships.pac-12.com/cross-country/. 5. BYU 316 3 Previews, as well as real-time coverage on the day of the championships, will be posted, inlcuding live stats, 6. Oklahoma 306 4 twitter updates and facebook update. In addition, fans can download facebook cover photos now. At the 7. Texas 283 22 conclusion of the race, of!cial results and recaps will be posted on the championships page. 8. OREGON 275 15 9. Arkansas 257 19 2012 PAC-12 CROSS COUNTRY CHAMPIONSHIPS OFFICIAL PROGRAM ... A link to the championships 10. Columbia 251 17 souvenir program for the Pac-12 Men’s and Women’s Cross Country Championships can be found on the 11. Michigan 227 24 championships page or by clicking on the link: http://championships.pac-12.com/cross-country/. 12.