The Cal State Fullerton cross country squads open their
2004 campaign Saturday by hosting the Fullerton Season Opener at Carbon
Canyon Regional Park in nearby Brea. The men’s 8K race will start
at 8:30 a.m. followed by the women’s 5K race at 9:15 a.m.
Both the men’s and women’s teams look to improve on their
Big West finishes from 2003. Here’s a season preview:
Men – After placing fourth in the Big West Conference
Championships in each of the last three years, the Titan men are hungry
to compete for the top spots in the conference. Leading the way are seniors
Nick Arciniaga (Fountain Valley HS) and Marcos Campos (La Puente HS),
junior Jordan Horn (Alta Loma HS) and sophomore Damien Nieves (Sonora
HS). Arciniaga and Horn are the top two conference finishers returning
from the 2003 team, having placed 19th and 22nd, respectively. Campos,
a redshirt in ’03, placed 24th at the ’02 championships. Nieves,
who was injured in ’03, is expected to challenge for one of the
top spots on the team. After a strong spring track season and a significant
commitment to increasing their summer training, these men should be ready
to lead the team to the next level.
Top newcomers include Dan Miller, a junior transfer from Antelope Valley
College, and freshman Cyrus Bastani from Corona HS. Miller was one of
the top JC runners in California while at AVC and Bastani blossomed his
senior track season, running a 15:05 for 5000 meters, a seldom run distance
for preps. Also poised to make a run at the top seven are Aaron Hurtado
(junior, U. of La Verne), Cory Vaselenko (freshman, Apple Valley Christian
HS), Stephen Murvin (freshman, Esperanza HS) and Jeff Brenner (sophomore,
Mission Viejo HS).
Women – The women boast the strongest and deepest
squad to represent CSUF in the last 10 years. After a disappointing conference
finish in 2003 (8th place), Coach John Elders believes they have the talent
to break into theupper echelon of the Big West Conference. This year’s
team is made up of a balance of returnees and newcomers.
Top returnees are Maria Blazquez (junior, Roosevelt HS), Catie Garrett
(senior, Rosary HS), Danielle Hernandez (senior, Ramona Convent HS) and
Christine Ruby (senior, Golden West College). Blazquez, Garrett and Hernandez
are coming off a great summer of training and are expected to improve
significantly. Ruby is coming off an outstanding track season were she
established herself as one of the top middle-distance runners in the Big
West.
Top newcomers include transfers Alejandra Contreras (senior, CS Dominguez
Hills), Dahamar Perez (junior, Fullerton College) and Luz Valdez (junior,
Fullerton College). Contreras, a top performer at the Division II level
last year, should challenge for the top spot on the team. Perez and Valdez,
after outstanding careers at the JC level, will add great depth to the
Lady Titans squad. Other contenders for the top seven will be Kristen
Goosens (junior, Mt. SAC), Leslie Kirby (freshman, Upland HS), Holly Kirwan
(junior, Cloverhill HS), Juliane Masciana (freshman, El Modena HS), Brittany
McClellan (freshman, Bonita HS), Cynthia Mendez (freshman, Savanna HS)
and Beatriz Rodriguez (freshman, Roosevelt HS). Masciana has been impressive
in early season workouts and Mendez qualified for the California state
meet in the 800 meters last spring as a high school senior.
