WAC Women Results

DALLAS - The University of Hawai`i women's cross country squad finished seventh overall this morning as Rice University took the title at the Western Athletic Conference Cross Country Championships at Norbuck Park in Dallas hosted by SMU.

Inclement weather was a big concern this morning as the race was run with 40-degree temperatures, rain, and muddy conditions.

However, Head Coach Carmyn James said that the weather didn't play that big of a factor despite the seventh place finish by UH.

"Everyone else ran under the same conditions, and our individual times were pretty close to each ones personal bests," James said before catching a plane back to Honolulu this afternoon.

Hawai`i was again led by junior Victoria Chang, who was named first team All-WAC this morning following her solid performance. She placed third overall crossing the line with a time of 17:42. As a matter of fact, Chang's time (17:42) was one second better than UH's Cheryl Smith, who won the title last year in Hawai`i.

SMU's two runners took first and second, and according to Chang, they knew exactly where all of the soft spots were on the course.

After Rice, Tulsa finished second with 85 points followed by Nevada (87), UTEP (93), SMU (95), Boise State (157), and Hawai`i (158). Fresno State came in eighth with 165 points followed by San Jose State (226) and Louisiana Tech (315).

Frosh Hanna Bremler, who is normally near the Top 10, was a little under the weather battling abdominal pains. She ran 19:06 finishing in 24th place.

Jennifer Crumley ended her senior season on a positive note. She ran a 19:29 crossing the line in 34th place.

"Jennifer ran strong throughout getting out to a very fast start attacking the hills," James said. "It was really nice to see her run a srong and smart race in her last WAC Championship."

The final two scorers for UH were Robin McRobbie in 47th place with a time of 20:03 and Teryn Bentley in 50th at 20:14.

The final four runners for UH were Carin Patterson (56th, 20:28), Jodi Enomoto (66th, 21:05), Leoni Sugai (69th, 21:52), and Sara Verga (70th, 22:27).

One of UH's goals was to finish in the Top 3, so the seventh place finish was a little disappointing, according to James.

"This should be a motivator to the ladies as we prepare for the NCAA West Regional at Stanford in two weeks," James said. "Our Top 7 from the WAC will make the trip, and we think the conditions will be a little more suitable for us running a 6K on mostly grass."