By Malika Andrews |
On Nov. 1, the No. 8 ranked Pilots cross country team, led by redshirt senior David Perry, beat rivals No. 18 BYU Cougars to claim the 2014 West Coast Conference Men’s Cross Country Championship. Portland beat BYU by only 3 points (Pilots-28, Cougars-31).
This is the Pilots’ 34th WCC title.
BYU has been in the WCC for four years, beating the Pilots two of those years. The rivalry between the two teams has become something both runners and coaches look forward to.
“It has become a significant rivalry between us and BYU,” Head Coach Rob Connor said. “We felt like with four national level seniors (Reid Buchanan, Ryan Poland, Fauble, and Perry) this is the year for us to have our best team ever.”
Perry crossed the finish line in a time of 23:25.4, with redshirt senior Scott Fauble on his heels finishing in second place with a time of 23:26.1. This is Perry’s second race back from injury and first cross country meet win.
“As soon as I finished, I turned around to see as Scott come in as our number two, and Reid come in as our number three,” Perry said. “The fact that I won didn’t set in, I was just wondering where my team finished, because the massive trophy we have in our locker room is because of my team. It isn’t because of me.”
In addition to the WCC title, Connor took home his eighth WCC Coach of the Year title. David Perry’s individual win, which set the record for the 8K course as well as set a new personal record, earned him the WCC Runner of the Year award and a spot on the WCC First Team.
He is joined on the First Team by Fauble, Buchanan and Danny Martinez. Junior Timo Goehler’s finish of 23.44 earned him Second Team honors.
Senior Tansey Lystad finished first overall and led the women’s team to a second place finish, behind BYU. This performance earned her Runner of the Year and First Team Honors. Anne Luijten’s eighth overall finish with a time of 20:20 also earned her First Team honors. Sanna Mustonen finished third for the Pilots and 13th overall with a time of 20:36 receiving Second Team honors.
The NCAA West Regionals takes place Saturday, Nov. 14 in Palo Alto. The Pilots best finish at the national level is seventh but they look forward to attempting to best that.
University of Colorado is ranked No. 1 and favored to win.
“Every day has to be purposeful,” Perry said. “I think moving in I am just looking forward to racing aggressively. This has cemented my ability to be one of the top guys in the NCAA. I believe that nothing is going to stand in my way. I believe I am a front man in the NCAA.”
Malika Andrews is a sports reporter for The Beacon. She can be reached at andrewsm17@up.edu or on Twitter @malika_andrews.
