The University of Portland Cross Country teams continued their 2002 seasons today on the road. The men’s team raced at the Pre NCAAs in Terre Haute, IN and the women’s team raced at the Cal Poly Invite in San Luis Obispo, CA. The Pilot men raced their ‘A’ squad and notched a 12th-place showing in the ‘Men’s Blue Race’ with 340 points (96 teams raced in three events, the men’s blue individuals, the men’s white individuals and the men’s open race). The Pilot women placed first in the Cal Poly Invitational meet with 56 points.

Full women’s team results are as follows: 1st See Jane Run 49 (Club team), 2nd Portland 56, 3rd Portland State 68, 4th UCLA 70, 5 Cal Poly 90, 6 UC Santa Barbara “B” 147.

“I was happy with how we raced today,” said Coach Ian Solof. “We ran very smart and we moved up well throughout the race. We improved a lot since our last race and this will give us some good momentum heading into conference.”

Portland’s Matt Harriman crossed the line in 24:30 for an 31st-place finish. Harriman was just ahead of teammates Kevin Smith (46th, 24:54) and Jeff Driscoll (47th, 24:55). Other Pilot scorers included Trevor Coolidge (74th, 25:12), Steve Schaefer (142nd, 25:45), Joey Hord (155th, 25:55) and Chad Kilian (230th, 27:08).

"My main objective was to size up the other teams in the West Region," said Head Coach Rob Conner. "We did that and now know what we have to do to advance to the NCAA Championships. We will adjust our training and be ready for regionals in a month."

For the women, Pilot veteran Nicole Ricci finished first for Portland, 2nd overall in a time of 18:03. Teammate Alison Smith came in just behind Ricci in sixth-place with a time of 18:32. Other Pilot scorers included Kristen Rohde (13th, 18:48), Hannah Coombe (15th, 18:57), Kathy Rice (24th, 19:23), Michelle Pierce (29th, 19:39), Jodi Minard (30th, 19:43), China Metzen (36th, 20:05) and Sarah Grue (40th, 20:16).