Seasiders Sweep PacWest Cross-Country Championships (Oct. 23, 2004)
Lady Jackets Impressive in Second Place Showing
(Complete Men's Results)
(Complete Women's Results)

BILLINGS, MT – The BYU-Hawaii men and women ran away with the top honors at the 2004 Pacific West Conference Cross-Country Championships on Saturday, capturing first place team and individual titles in both races.  The Seasiders’ Jeremy Van Tress pulled away down the stretch for the men’s individual crown.  Teammate Chelsea Smith cruised to the women’s title, setting a new course record along the way.

While Van Tress and Smith were the individual stars of the day, it was the Seasiders’ 3-5 runners who were critical in winning the team titles.  The Seasider men edged rival Hawaii-Hilo by just 11 points, 33-44, while the Seasider women outlasted host Montana State-Billings by 12 points, 34-42.

After a cautious start, Van Tress and Hawaii-Hilo’s Germain Ortiz emerged from the pack about midway through the men’s 8,000 meters.  Van Tress pulled away down the final 300 meters to win in 26:05, while Ortiz slipped to fourth place in 26:12.  Van Tress’s teammate Jacob Rushton kicked for a second place finish in 26:08, followed by Chaminade’s Bedora Lim in 26:09.

“I expected the pace to be fast at the beginning,” said Van Tress afterwards.  “I expected Germaine to go out fast, be he didn’t.  We broke out together and battled it out.  This is something I’ve been preparing for since last year when I knew there would be a conference race.  I feel good [about the championship]….very happy.”

“The courses we run in Hawaii are very hilly and a lot more rugged,” added Van Tress of his race strategy.  “This course was very fast.  I knew it would be quick, so I hung back at the start.  I could feel the altitude change when we tuned up this week, so I hung back and ran conservatively for the first mile.”

BYU-Hawaii arrived in Billings on Wednesday, and the extra preparation proved to be worthwhile.  The Seasiders practiced Wednesday, Thursday and Friday on the course that looped around Lake Josephine. 

“They knew the course,” said Seasiders head coach Norman Kaluhiokalani.  “We ran it for three days, and I told them that it was their course now.  It was an advantage for the kids to know the course.”

The Seasiders used four top 10 finishes to hold off the Vulcans.  Along with Van Tress and Rushton, Jacob Puzey placed sixth in 26:37, and Joseph Sybrowsky placed eighth in 26:56.  UH-Hilo’s Paul Moth (seventh in 26:44) and Alastair In (tenth in 27:25) joined Ortiz in the top ten.  The Vulcans also took home eleventh and twelfth places to beat Hawaii Pacific for third place in the team race.  UHH’s Gustavo Arceo was eleventh in 27:27, and Ikaika Ho was twelfth in 27:36.

The Yellowjackets, who placed sixth, were led by Sam Hartpence's 17th place finish.  He ran a season-best 29:23, over a minute and a half better than his previous best this year.  Scott Brown was close behind Hartpence in 19th place in 28:35, also a season best.

Jared Rensvold was the Jackets' third runner, placing 26th in 29:31 for his first sub-30 minute 8K of the year.  Ryan Archibald placed 27th in 29:38, and Joe Kragt finished 29th in 29:59.  It was also the first time this season that Archibald and Kragt had run below 30 minutes for 8,000 meters.

The result of the women’s race—at least the race for the individual title—was clear after the first 200 meters.  Smith, the defending NCAA II National Champion, shattered the course record by over a minute and outpaced her nearest competitor by over two minutes.  She set a personal record for 5,000 meters, finishing in 16:57.  The previous course record was 18:04, and Smith’s previous personal best for 5,000 meters was 17:22.

“It’s funny.  I didn’t feel that fast,” said Smith, who ran alone the entire race.  “[Running without anyone close] is hard mentally, but I have an awesome team.  Our men’s team is always out there yelling and pushing me.  I get comfortable when I’m that far out in front, but I have to make myself uncomfortable.  I see the clock ahead of me.  I see 17:00, and I wanted to break that today.  I didn’t tell anyone before the race, but that was my goal.”

Smith’s teammates held off an MSU Billings team that took places 2, 3 and 5.  The Yellowjackets’ Heidi Robertson finished second in 19:00, followed by Sarah Lord in 19:04 and Chelsea Lynnes in 19:19.  While MSUB’s next two runners finished 14^th and 18^th, the Seasiders placed four runners in the top 10 and five in the top 12.

The Seasiders’ Diana Choi came in fourth in 19:13, followed by Jennifer Puzey in eighth in 19:28 and Melissa Flake in ninth in 19:38.  Emily Williams rounded out BYU-Hawaii’s scoring five with a twelfth place finish in 19:55.

For the Lady Jackets, Robertson, Lord and Lynnes all had season-best times.  By capturing three of the top five individual places, MSU Billings was the surprise of the women's race.

Tiffany Piplica and Diana Davis rounded out the Yellowjackets' five scorers.  Piplica placed 14th in 20:04, almost two minutes faster than her best time this season.  Davis finished in 18th in 20:18, a personal best by over two minutes.

The Lady Yellowjackets had the largest number of runners in the race with ten.  Their second five included Mandy Brown (23rd place in 20:57), Tracie Overberg (27th place in 21:59), Kisa Kron (29th place in 22:09), Kristy Burns (32nd place in 22:36), and Kendra Bebee (35th place in 22:54).  All five ran personal bests for the year.

The Yellowjackets will host their annual fun run and invitational on October 30.  The six PacWest teams will next compete in the NCAA West Regional on November 6 in Bellingham, WA.  The National Championships will be held in Evansville, IN, on November 20.

Men’s Team Results
1. BYU-Hawaii, 33; 2. Hawaii-Hilo, 44; 3. Hawaii Pacific, 86; 4. Western New Mexico, 100; 5. Chaminade, 113; 6. MSU Billings, 118.

Men’s All-Conference Team
1. Jeremy Van Tress, BYUH, 26:05
2. Jacob Rushton, BYU:H, 26:08
3. Bedora Lim, CU, 26:09
4. Germain Ortiz, UHH, 26:12
5. Matt Stevens, HPU, 26:19
6. Jacob Puzey, BYUH, 26:37
7. Paul Moth, UHH, 26:44
8. Joseph Sybrowsky, BYUH, 26:56
9. Daniel Waldo, WNMU, 27:20
10. Alastair In, UHH, 27:25

Women’s Team Results
1. BYU-Hawaii, 34; 2. MSU Billings, 42; 3. Western New Mexico, 89; 4. Hawaii-Hilo, 110; 5. Chaminade, 111; Hawaii Pacific, 133.

Women’s All-Conference Team
1. Chelsea Smith, BYUH, 16:57
2. Heidi Robertson, MSUB, 19:00
3. Sarah Lord, MSUB, 19:04
4. Diana Choi, BYUH, 19:13
5. Chelsea Lynnes, MSUB, 19:19
6. Becky Robles, WNMU, 19:23
7. Laura Van Buskirk, WNMU, 19:27
8. Jennifer Puzey, BYUH, 19:28
9. Melissa Flake, BYUH, 19:38
10. Lara Bachmeier, UHH, 19:39

Click HERE to see photos of the Yellowjackets.

Click HERE to see photos of the Pacific West Championship Awards.