Oct. 31, 2009

Courtesy of Portland

BELMONT, Calif. --- Portland sophomore All-America Alfred Kipchumba set a course record and led the Pilots to their 31st consecutive West Coast Conference Men’s Cross Country championship on Saturday at Crystal Springs Course. The streak of 31 titles is the longest in the WCC for any sport.

Kipchumba finished with a time of 24:20 at the 8K course, 36 seconds ahead of the second place finisher. He beat the previous WCC 8K record of 24:53, set by former Pilot standout Joe Driscoll in 1999.

The Pilots posted a team score of 34 and were trailed by Loyola Marymount (54), San Francisco (71) and Santa Clara (78).

Portland sophomore Matt Frerker finished fourth individually at 25:11, while Lars Erik Malde was fifth and took WCC Freshman of the Year honors at 25:12. Freshman Jared Bassett placed eighth at 25:27.

Head coach Rob Conner was named the WCC Coach of the Year for the sixth time. He ran four freshmen, two sophomores and a junior. All seven runners finished among the top 25 out of 55 total harriers.

Portland will next prepare for the NCAA West Regional which is scheduled for Saturday, Nov. 14 at the Springfield Country Club in Springfield, Ore.

2009 West Coast Conference Men’s Cross Country Championships
Crystal Springs Course (Belmont, Calif.)
October 31, 2009

Team Scores: 1. Portland 34, 2. Loyola Marymount 54, 3. San Francisco 71, 4. Santa Clara 78, 5. Gonzaga 123, 6. Pepperdine 187, 7. Saint Mary’s 191, 8. San Diego 192.

UP Individuals: 1. Alfred Kipchumba (24:20), 4. Matt Frerker (25:11), 5. Lars Erik Malde (25:12), 8. Jared Bassett (25:27), 16. Shane Geiger (25:53), 17. Dino Bozzone (25:57), 25. Aiden Irish (26:09).

WCC HONORS
Champion – Alfred Kipchumba, Portland
Freshman of the Year – Lars Erik Malde, Portland
Coach of the Year – Rob Conner, Portland

2009 Men's All-Conference First Team
Jared Bassett, Portland
Ganbileg Bor, San Francisco
Chris Boyle, Gonzaga
Matt Frerker, Portland
Alfred Kipchumba, Portland
Sterling Lockert, LMU
Lars Erik Malde, Portland
Brian McDonald, LMU
Robbie Reid, Santa Clara
Chris Sampson, Santa Clara

All-WCC Honorable Mention (Alphabetical order)
Mark Blucher, Saint Mary’s
Thomas Finnigan, LMU
Devin Hopkins, San Francisco
Tyre Johnson, LMU
Daniel LaCava, LMU