Another season of ASU fall athletics has come and gone.
The 2002 cross country program proved to be an interesting sport to follow this year as one outstanding senior in Fasil Bizuneh began his final year in Tempe, and young, fresh faces on the women's team went beyond expectations.
"We have a schedule that I feel will give us an idea early in the season to see where we are and what we need to better prepare on for the year," said head coach Walt Drenth at the beginning of the season.
The men's team was expected to do well once again as they have proven to be a strong program year after year. Preseason rankings found them at 13. However, it would be the highest they would claim. They came close once again during the week of Sept. 24 when the team received a 14th-place ranking. Surprising though, the men's team ended the 2002 season unranked.
The women's team found themselves in the 19th spot after the first meet of the year. Their highest climb would be sixth during the week of Oct. 7. This year's season ended with a 17th place ranking.
The first meet of the year, The Adidas Invitational on Sept. 6 showed what was to come for the remaining of the year with Bizuneh taking home the top spot for the men and unknown, true freshman Jessica Scalzo for the women. It wasn't quite known then what an impact Scalzo would have on the team.
"This is a wide-open field for team leaders," Drenth said about the women's team during the beginning of the season.
It appeared not too long after that Scalzo would be the one. In five of the six meets that she competed in, she was the first scoring Sun Devil for the women's side. The only meet that she did not claim first place scoring rights was the NCAA Championships on Nov. 25. She still finished within the top five in scoring.
The women also pulled impressive finishes within their meets. At the Adidas Invitational they finished third, then second at the Roy Griak Invitational on Sept. 28, second again at the ASU Invitational on Oct. 11, eighth at the NCAA Pre-Nationals on Oct. 19, second again at both the Pac-10 Championships Nov. 2 and NCAA West Regional Championships on Nov. 16. At the Pac-10 Championships the team's point total was the lowest for the program at that meet in history. The second place finish at the West Regional gave the women an automatic berth into the NCAA Championships that were held on November 25 in Terre Haute, Ind.
At the championships, the team finished tied for 23rd with William & Mary. It was the fifth consecutive year the women made the championships and had a top 25 finish.
In addition, at the West Regional five women --Scalzo, freshman Amy Hastings, freshman Anna Masinelli, sophomore Desiree Davila and senior Cody Sohn -- received all-region honors.
Aside from Scalzo, recognition should be given to Masinelli when she finished third for ASU and 13th overall at the NCAA West Regional, her best finish of the season; and freshman Amy Hastings for finishing first for the Sun Devils (69th) at the NCAA Championships.
On the men's side, two-time All-American Bizuneh was looked upon to take the men's team to victory.
"He [Bizuneh] is going to set the standard for everybody on the team," Drenth said early in the year.
Bizuneh was the top Sun Devil man in five out of six meets giving first to sophomore J.J. Duke once at the NCAA West Regional. At that meet, both qualified for all-region honors as well as an invitation to the NCAA Championships.
At the championships, Duke finished in 104th place while Bizuneh was looking to become to first ever three-time All-American in ASU history. Bizuneh finished ahead of Duke in 55th place, but did not get the honor.
The men also had all top ten finishes by coming in fourth at the Adidas Invitational, ninth at the Roy Griak, third at the ASU Invitational and eighth at the Pre-Nationals. They finished third at the Pac-10 Championships and fifth at the West Regional Championships, which did not allow them to qualify for the championships.
"Our optimism is very high for the following years to come. They [the men's and women's team] understand what we need to improve upon to become a better team," Drenth said after the final meet.
Reach the reporter at katie.crane@asu.edu.
