| 2006 Cross Country Season
Preview The Whittier College
Cross Country program boasts a tradition of success dating back to the
early years of the college. In the last 20 years, the Poets have
seen a number of history-making performances by both the men's and
women's teams. From 1990 to 1994, the Lady Poets had a Southern
California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) best 23
all-conference runners. Helen Garcia '94 was named SCIAC
runner-of-the-year and led the team to NCAA National Championships
competition, the first Whittier College women's sport to do so.
Whittier became one of the smallest colleges to ever qualify for an NCAA
Cross Country Championship. |
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| The men's team
enjoyed their success in the late 1990s. During a five-year
period, the men finished 3rd or better in the SCIAC standings, with a
number of runners earning all-conference honors. In 1997, six
Poets were placed on the NCAA All-West Region team. The next two
seasons saw back-to-back SCIAC Champions in Juan Rodriguez '98 and
Matthew Stuart '99. In 2006,
22nd-year head coach, Greg Phillips looks to a strong returning group of
runners to lead the Poets. Two of last year's top five women
runners are returning for the 2006 season: Laura Guzman '07
(Escondido HS) and Adrianna Durflinger '09 (Mountain Empire HS).
Two newcomers expected to make an impact are recent Los Angeles section
track finalists, Darlene Partida '10 (South Gate HS) and Erin
Patterson '10 (Granada Hills Charter School).
The men return their top five runners
from the 2005 season, led by Nicholas Salomone '07 (Vista HS) and
Nick Daum '08 (Diamond Ranch HS). Andrew Diaz '10 (La
Mirada HS) and Raphael Rodriguez '10 (Silerado HS, NV) are
incoming freshmen looking to add to an already stellar returning cast.
The Poets open their season with their
annual altitude training camp held this year near Lake Arrowhead, Calif.
Their training will be put to the test at the first meet of the season,
the Westmont Invitational in Santa Barbara, Calif., on September 16. |
