Oct. 10, 2000

BERKELEY - BEARS TRAVEL TO CAL POLY INVITATIONALAfter resting the top men and women cross-country runners and giving the 'B' squad a chance to practice their competitive form, Cal will be looking for a dynamic finish on the Fairbanks Memorial course at Cal Poly, Saturday, Oct. 15. Competition begins at 10 a.m. Coach Tony Sandoval will be using the results of the Cal Poly Invitational as the basis for the selection of his Pac-10 Championship team.

A LOOK AT THE CAL POLY INVITATIONAL
In 1999 Cal did not participate in the Cal Poly Invitational. The cross-country's team entry into this invitational gives the runners more practice before the Pac-10 Championship, the NCAA regional and NCAAs. Teams competing this year include: Cal Poly, Cal State Fullerton, UCSB, Pepperdine, UCR, Fresno State, Hawaii, the Reebok Aggies, and the Fila Track West of Santa Monica. Also, there will be a separate race for high school divisions 1, 2, and 3.

SAN FRANCISCO INVITATIONAL IN REVIEW
Three individuals were sent to represent Cal at the San Francisco Invite last Saturday. Although they did not have enough runners to muster up a team score, the three runners did place in the top half of the meet. Zack McGahey lead the men with a 9th-place finish (27:27.46), and Carlos Carballo finished in 18th-place (28:08.16).Lina Biber-Ferro led the Bear women to a seventh place finish. She came in 29th with a time of 24:45.69. Following close behind was Emeka Mayes (25:29.41/41st), Tiffany Bock (25:48.79/44th) and Oasii Lucero (25:48.79/45th). The Bears tactic was to run their 'B' squad on San Francisco's course to gain more exposure to the race environment and to rest the 'A' squad for the approaching Pac-10 Championships.

COACH SANDOVAL'S COMMENTS
Sandoval plans to run all of his top runners at the Cal Poly Invitational. The top seven Cal men's and women's runners will then be sent to the Pac-10 Championship. After resting his 'A' squad and giving his 'B' squad more practice, the selection process will not be easy.

ASMERON TO REDSHIRT 2000 SEASON
After returning from the Sydney Olympic Games, California senior Bolota Asmerom decided last week to redshirt the 2000 cross-country season, head coach Tony Sandoval announced Wednesday. He also has opted to return to his native Eritrea to train for the 2001 collegiate track and field season and will re-enroll at Cal in January.'Our goal was to get Bolota the Olympic experience and get him fired up and motivated to do spectacular things this spring,' said Sandoval. 'Training at altitude in Eritrea this fall will help him be a contender for a national title in the 5000 meters at Cal and not just someone who goes to nationals.'Asmerom competed for Eritrea in the 5000 meters at the Olympics, finishing 16th in his heat with a time of 14:15. In 1999, he placed 103rd at the NCAA cross country meet, but during the track and field season, he set the Cal record in the 5000m with an impressive time of 13:32.48. At the 2000 NCAA Track and Field Championship, Asmerom finished 10th in the 5000m (14:13.94).