IN ­ The Cal Poly men¹s cross country team had a solid outing
at the NCAA Pre-Nationals on Saturday with a 10th place finish in a very
strong white race hosted by Indiana State. The Mustangs finished higher then
two teams ranked a head of the team in the national rankings.
 
            Senior Phillip Reid returned to form in leading the team with a 22nd place
finish in the 8k race. Reid, an All-American in 2006, crossed the line with
a time of 23:47. 
 
            Troy Swier finished 54th with his second solid finish against a national
field (13th place finish at Dellinger Invitational). Swier finished with a
time of 24:07.
 
            Cal Poly¹s final three scoring runners finished within a spread of 14
seconds. Matt Johnsrud finished with a time of 24:14 (64th), followed by
Evan Anderson¹s time of 24:25 (90th) and Joe Gatel at 24:28 (98th).
 
            Other Mustangs competing in the race included Leif Anderson with a time of
24:31 (103rd) and Jeff Lease at 24:35 (110th).
 
            The Mustangs entered the race ranked 30th in the nation and finished ahead
of William & Mary (16th) and Weber State (26th). While all the teams
finishing in front of the Mustangs were all ranked above them.
 
            The surprise winner of the race was UTEP who entered the race ranked 28th
nationally. Colorado was second (ranked third) followed by North Carolina
State (10th).
 
            The individual winner of the race was Liberty¹s Josh McDougal with a time of
22:57. Liberty as a team finished in 17th place.
 
            The Mustangs will return to the course on Oct. 27 when they defend their Big
West Conference Championship at the Fairbanks Memorial Course in San Luis
Obispo.