Weather hinders Poet finale; Smauley earns All-Regional honors
Photo by: Lance Franey
CLAREMONT, Calif. – The Whittier College men's cross country team took to the field as they took part in the NCAA West Regional's Saturday morning fighting for a chance to go to nationals but due to poor conditions they were unable to move into good position finishing 11th out of 20 teams.
This 11th place finish was the Poets best regional finish since 2001 when they placed 8th. Junior transfer Nathaniel Smauley who comes from Las Positas College finished in 26th place with a time of 26:19.7 putting together his best racing performance of the season earning him All-NCAA West Regional honors, being the first men's cross country to be recognized for this honor since assistant coach Luis Ibarra received it in 2001.
Freshman Marco Godinez who has run very strongly all season long did not favor this course and finished in 48th with a time of 26:53.2.
Whittier looks to bounce back next season after graduating seniors Marco Leone, Kevin Mancilla, and Marvin Cano, but look to build off of a successful 2011 season in order to make that push towards the top of the SCIAC standings in 2012.
