For the second year in a row, the Big West cross country clubs return to the Central Coast region as Cal Poly hosts the 2007 Big West Cross Country Championships. The conference meet will again be held at Fairbanks Cross Country Course in San Luis Obispo. The meet also features a new addition to the fold as the UC Davis men's and women's clubs compete in the first Division I championship in Aggie athletics history. The men's race will kick off the event at 9:00 a.m. (PST), while the women's run will be run at approximately 9:55 a.m. The presentation of the team and individual awards is set to begin at 10:35 a.m.
On the men's side, the championship discussion rarely begins without mentioning the host, #27 Cal Poly. The Mustangs have won four consecutive Big West titles and seven of the last nine crowns. 2006 Big West Athlete of the Year and conference champion Phillip Reid leads a pack of talented runners who are poised to bring an unprecedented fifth straight crown home.
UC Santa Barbara finished second last season by a scant four points and will be looking for its first crown since 2001. Micah Tyhurst, who finished eighth at the conference meet a year ago, and Mike Powers have been stellar for the Gauchos in 2007 and look to spoil Cal Poly’s attempt at history.
Keep an eye on regionally ranked clubs UC Riverside and Long Beach State. The Highlanders finished sixth last season, while the 49ers were in fourth but both clubs have solid young rosters that have performed admirably leading up to the Big West Championships.
The women's preseason poll had three squads within three points of each other for the top spot and the regular season has seen #24 UC Santa Barbara, UC Riverside and UC Irvine prepare for a showdown at the conference championship.
The Gauchos are the only one of the three nationally ranked, and UCSB has followed through on that with excellent performances against top-notch competition at meets such as Pre-Nationals and the Roy Griak Invitational. Bethany Nickless, who is a multiple Big West Athlete of the Week, leads a veteran group looking to win its second championship in as many years and fourth in the last five years.
UC Riverside may not have a number next to its name, but the Highlanders have proven themselves to be among the elite in the country as they have received votes in each of the the national polls. UCR has a talented pool of runners led by Brenda Martinez, Cristina Olivas and Danielle Evans. UC Riverside has never won a Big West crown, but seem poised to jump to the top of the heap after a solid 2007 regular season.
UC Irvine finds itself in the championship discussion thanks to excellent performances at big-time meets, such as the Chile Pepper Festival, and the momentum of a second place finish at the Big West Championships a year ago. Laura Olvera and Candice Proctor are as talented a duo as one can find in the nation as they finished 2-3 at last year's conference meet and own the top two times in the 6K this season. They look to lead the Anteaters to their first title since 2005, a crown that ended UC Santa Barbara’s two-year run at the top of the Big West.