The ASU women’s cross country team finished 10th overall at the Roy Griak Invitational in Minneapolis on Saturday, while No. 24 UA captured the team title.
“It was a tough day,“ ASU coach Louie Quintana said. “We have demonstrated that we are a much better team so far in training than what was produced on race day.”
Junior Lindsay Prescott was once again the front-runner for the Sun Devils, completing the 6,000-meter race at Les Bolstad Golf Course in 21:38.7 to finish 22nd overall.
“We weren’t too thrilled [about the team’s performance],“ Prescott said. “Basically, we just need to collect ourselves and get ready for pre-[nationals].”
However, Quintana was pleased with Prescott’s individual showing and thinks she has even more room for improvement.
“Lindsay was solid,” Quintana said. “She is getting better everyday. She needs to race uninhibited and believe that she can compete with the very best.”
The other top scorers for ASU were Alyssa Allison (53rd in 22:10.5), Kate Lydy (57th in 22:12.8), Cherise McNair (58th in 22:13.3) and Kauren Tarver (80th in 22:36.7).
ASU was able to achieve its goal of running together, but the pack fell behind early.
“We stayed together,” Quintana said, admitting that the women didn’t run relaxed. “We just were too far back and, when you start as far back as we did, it makes it difficult to pass the amount of people you need to in order to be competitive.”
No. 18 New Mexico, No. 15 Iowa State, No. 7 Duke and No. 14 Providence rounded out the top teams in second, third, fourth and fifth, respectively. ASU, who received votes but is still unranked, finished with 267 points, ahead of one ranked team, No. 29 Rice.
Even with what Quintana described as “perfect racing conditions,” he said the women were too tentative in the first big national meet of the season.
“The women need to stay focused and positive,” Quintana said. “They need to shed the burden of the streak [of 12 straight appearances at the national meet] and just focus on getting better everyday.”
Next week, the Sun Devils will participate in two races. The top men’s runners will travel to South Bend, Ind., for the Notre Dame Invitational, while the remaining men and the women’s team will race in the ASU Invitational in Mesa. Until then, ASU will continue to train to improve every day.
“This is a work in progress,” Quintana said. “We need to continue doing great work and have fun.”
Reach the reporter at kyle.j.newman@asu.edu
