RIVERSIDE – UCSB’s Amanda Moreno ran a record-shattering 19:57.0 over the 6K Ag/Ops Course in Riverside on Saturday to lead the Gaucho women’s cross country team to its second consecutive Big West championship.
Moreno’s time was both a course record and a Big West mark, breaking former UCSB-great Danielle Domenichelli previous record by a little over 12 seconds. Moreno’s fantastic finish on a muddy Saturday morning was also 25.7 seconds better than teammate Breanne Strenkowski, the second-place finisher with a time of 20:22.7. Crystal Reed was third with a time of 20:26.2, giving the Gauchos a 1-2-3 finish.
Junior Andrea Jacobs joined the trio of Santa Barbara seniors in the top-10 as the top-10 as she ran a 20:59.3, good for 10th-place.
The UCSB victory was not an easy one. The Gauchos finished with 35 points while Blue-Green Rivalry opponent Cal Poly parlayed fourth fifth, seventh and eighth-place individual finishes into 37 points, two points back. Long Beach State had one top-10 finisher and finished a distant third with 72 points.
The Gaucho championship was their second in a row and it marked the first time since 2006 and 2007 that they have repeated as champions. UCSB has now won four out of the last five Big West championships and six since 2003.
In addition to the top-four finishers for Santa Barbara, senior Cassie Brooker was 19th at 21:24.5, juniors Ashley Beechan and Callie Mulgannon were 28th and 32nd with times of 21:48.1 and 21:53.8 respectively, and sophomores Sarah Vitug and Jessica Chadwick were 41st and 46th with times of 22:07.3 and 22:21.9.
UCSB will return to action on Saturday, Nov. 13 when it travels to Eugene, Ore., to take part in the NCAA West Regionals.
