The women’s team has earned five consecutive first place finishes, from 1996 to 2000, and have 12 overall titles since 1985. They also posted the fastest individual runner seven times during the championship and took the top three spots in last year’s race.

In 2000, the Pilots placed seven men on the All-WCC team, while the women took four spots. Sophomore Ryan Craig won the men’s 8K championship race in 25:11, edging San Diego sophomore Antonio Lopez by 10 seconds. Santa Clara posted their best finish since 1996, with second place and 52 total points.

The women’s race belonged to Portland’s Nicole Ricci, who won the 5K race in 18:02. Her teammate, Alyson Barrett, crossed the finish line 39 seconds behind Ricci, for second place. Gonzaga placed four runners in the top 10 to earn 40 points and second place in the team race, their best team finish since 1997.

Santa Clara is slated to finish second in the men’s poll, with San Diego coming in third and Gonzaga taking fourth place. Saint Mary’s, Pepperdine, Loyola Marymount and San Francisco round out the men’s field.

In the women’s poll, Gonzaga finished second, Santa Clara in third, and Pepperdine took fourth. Saint Mary’s, San Diego, San Francisco, and Loyola Marymount earned fifth through eighth, respectively. -WCC-2001 WCC Preseason Cross Country Poll Results (first place votes)

Men 1. Portland (7) 49 2. Santa Clara 42 3. San Diego 33 4. Gonzaga 29 5. Saint Mary’s (1) 26 6. Pepperdine 22 7. Loyola Marymount 12 8. San Francisco 10

Women 1. Portland (7) 49 2. Gonzaga 42 3. Santa Clara 31 4. Pepperdine 28 5. Saint Mary’s (1) 26 6. San Diego 25 7. San Francisco 13 8. Loyola Marymount 10