Dons Cross Country Teams Have Good Day at NCAA Regionals
Nov. 15, 2008
Men's Individual and Team Results 
Women's Individual and Team Results
(Palo Alto, CA) - San Francisco cross country teams finished well at the 2008 NCAA Regionals in Palo Alto on Saturday, crossing the finish line before no less than three conference foes. Freshman Ganbileg Bor and senior Michelle Born led for the Dons.
Men's Race:
Bor was the highest finisher for the Dons ever in this 10k race, coming in 38th with a time of 30:30.26. The freshman bettered Cheyne Inman's regional finish of 56th in 31:38 from last year. Bor was also the fourth fastest freshman in the field.
Also finishing in the top 100, freshman Jeremy Grace came in 95th in 31:55.88. Following him was freshman Thomas Estrada in 32:09.88 (105th) and sophomore Joshua Horeled in 32:12.37 (108th). Freshman Tyler Alvarez finished 113th in 32:21.29, and freshman Devin Hopkins came in 126th with a time of 32:47.19. Rounding out the Dons lineup was sophomore Jesus Romo, who finished 127th in 32:47:86.
USF earned its highest ever finish in the race, coming in 16th (457) out of 25 teams. The Dons defeated conference foes Loyola Marymount, Santa Clara, Pepperdine, and Saint Mary's.
"Our men did an excellent job of competing today in a very deep field," said head coach Helen Lehman-Winters. "We ran five freshmen and twp sophomores today, so this team's performance is really just the beginning for a team that will be very good in the future. They have worked hard this season and they are eager to improve. It is going to be a lot of fun watching them develop."
"Bor's run was impressive and I am very pleased with how well he moved through the field. He was the fourth fastest freshmen in the field and turned in a big PR today," added Lehman-Winters. "Horeled and Estrada were critical to our team success. Both of these guys did not compete at the WCC Championships and they really stepped up today and ran big PRs."
Galen Rupp of Oregon took the individual title in 27:41.24, helping his team take top honors (38). Stanford was second with 72 points and Portland rounded out the top three with 85 point.
Women's Race:
Senior Michelle Born led the pack for USF in the women's 6k, finishing 58th in 21:25.52. Sophomore Laurel Kleiber earned a personal record with a 21:37.09 (65th). Also earning personal records in the race were sophomore Nicole Bowler in 22:00.74 (88th) and junior Mary Verran in 22:32.81 (127th). Freshman Sophia Ditty finished 138th with a time of 22:40.71 and freshman Hillary Kigar finished 157th in 23:05.52. Freshman Haley Nemra rounded out the Dons lineup, coming in 158th with a time of 23:08.94.
As a team, USF finished 18th (467), beating conference foes Santa Clara, Pepperdine, and San Diego.
"Our women's team had a much stronger showing than we had two weeks ago at the conference championships," Lehman-Winters said. "All of our returning women improved on their times and places from last year and our freshmen gained some valuable championship experience. I am looking forward to continued development with this group over the next couple years."
Oregon's Alex Kosinski earned the individual title, finishing in 19:59.01. Washington won the team title with 25 points, Oregon took second with 62 points, and Stanford rounded out the top three with 91 points. Portland was the highest WCC finisher, coming in 5th with 215 points.