Oct. 18, 2003
TEMPE, Ariz. - The final meet on the schedule for the Arizona State cross country teams prior to the championship season saw three women and 10 men compete in the Canyon West Classic at Tempe Kiwanis Park Saturday. On the women's side, the Sun Devils did not score as a team as Alvina Begay (Sr., Ganado, Ariz.) was the lone competitor. For the men, Billy Smith (Fr., Glendale, Ariz.) and Jeremy Cramer (Fr., Boise, Idaho) finished ninth and 10th in the scoring to lead the men's 'B' team to a third-place finish.
The men, with five student-athletes competing as a 'B' team and saw Smith and Cramer cross the line at the same time with Smith gaining the slight advantage on tenths of a second in the 8,000m run. Behind the front runners were Jeff Dodge (Jr., Chandler, Ariz.), 17th place for 12 points; Jay DeGroot (Jr., Gilbert, Ariz.), 19th for 14 and Griffin Lee (So., Shawnee, Kan.), 25th for 17, rounded out the scoring.
ASU accumulated 62 points to place third by one point as Strapped Jock Running Club built 61 points. New Mexico won the team race with the lowest score possible of 15 points as NMU runners placed first through fifth to win the meet.
After a week off from competition, the Sun Devils will head to Pullman, Wash., Nov. 1 for the 2003 Pac-10 Championships, hosted by Washington State. The women will run a 6,000m race at 11 a.m. while the men will take to the 8,000m course starting at noon.