Oct. 27, 2007

2007 Big West Conference Championships Results
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SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. - For the second year in a row, the Gauchos came away from the Big West Conference Championships as runners-up to an accomplished Cal Poly squad.

"They know how to run, no doubt about it," said Gauchos assistant coach Avery Blackwell about Poly. "They have incredible depth and they displayed it in full force today.

"We knew what we were up against, and our goal was to finish ahead of Riverside. We accomplished that today."

Scott Smith ran his best race of the season to lead the Gauchos, finishing 7th with a time of 25:38. Micah Tyhurst was 8th with a time of 25:43, and Julian DeRubira was 9th at 25:44.

Cal Poly registered a clean sweep of the top five spots, and broke a Big West Record by scoring only 15 points, which is the best possible score. The Gauchos were second with 53 points, followed by UC Riverside (79), Long Beach State (134) and UC Irvine (137).

The Gauchos' Mike Powers had a tough day, placing 14th with a time of 25:53. Tim Aukshunas was the final scorer for UCSB with a 16th place finish and a time of 26:03. Also competing were Gabe Lopez, who had his strongest race of the year at 22nd place (26:24), freshman Matthew Petrillo (24th, 26:30), and Erik Aardal (32nd, 26:53).

The cross country teams will return to action on November 11th at the NCAA West Regionals in Eugene, Ore.