ASU cross-country teams race for different goals

Arizona State's men's and women's cross-country teams may share the same school and the same coach, but this season they are running on two different tracks in the pursuit of a national championship.

"The women will probably be (preseason) ranked top five in the country," said Louie Quintana, the men's and women's coach.

"We're hoping to put ourselves in the position to win the national title."

The top six women are back to try to improve on their fourth-place finish at the 2007 NCAA championships.

Ali Kielty, who placed 42nd at the national meet and earned All-America honors in 2007, said, "My main goal is for just the team to get back on the podium. I think all of us are just hoping to do what we can to get there."

The men placed 26th out of 31 teams at the NCAA championships last fall and will have a young roster this season.

"We're trying to get into the top 10 nationally," said Jeff Helmer, who placed 14th in regionals last season and is the men's top returner. "Right now, we're just focusing on the team aspect."

Quintana said he is unsure how the season will play out for the men's team.

"We're just going to get some experience and see where we're at ... I think it's going to jell," he said. "We've got the talent."

A group of fresh faces has been added to both rosters. Eleven freshmen bump the women's roster up to 29.

The men's roster of 25 includes five freshman and two transfers. Quintana said the talented group of freshmen is the best the teams have ever had.

"It brings some new blood to the team," he said. "It definitely doesn't secure anybody's spot in the top seven, so it makes everybody a little bit more alert and working a little bit harder, which is good."

After two weeks of practice under their belt, the Sun Devils face their first meet today at the George Kyte Invitational in Flagstaff.

Quintana said the top seven for each team are still undetermined.

"It's important for us to have a really balanced 10 or 12 kids," he said. "Not that we have interchangeable parts, but that we have people that can step up when we need them to step up."

The women's team is using the first meet of the season as a warm-up.

"We're not really putting in a full competitive effort," Quintana said. "We're just going to go out there and get a bit of a workout."

Quintana's goals for the men Saturday are just the opposite.

"We're going up there to try to win the meet," he said.

Men's and women's schedule

Today: George Kyte Invitational, Flagstaff

Sept. 19: Dave Murray Invitational, Tucson

Sept. 27: Roy Griak Invitational , Minneapolis

Oct. 3: ASU Invitational, Kiwanis Park, Tempe

Oct. 17: Mesa Thunderbird Invite, Mesa

Oct. 18: NCAA Pre-National Meet, Terre Haute, Ind.

Nov. 1: Pac-10 championships, Springfield, Ore.

Nov. 15: NCAA West Region championships, Palo Alto, Calif.

Nov. 24: NCAA championships, Terre Haute, Ind.

Cross-country rosters

Women's roster: Dayna Anderson, Fr.; Nastia Bishton, Fr.; Whitney Blue, So.; Jocelyn Buras Jr.; Chelsea Caloia, Jr.; Cassie DeSalvo, Fr.; Krystal Duke, Jr.; Carol Facinelli, Fr.; Courtney Golden Fr.; Rebecca Greenwald, Jr.; Kari Hardt, Jr.; Ali Kielty, Jr.; Jenna Kingma, Sr.; Catherine Loden, Fr. Kate Lydy, Fr.; Cherise McNair, Jr.; Stephanie Mundt, Fr.; Lisa Nelson, So.; Sunni Olding, Sr.; Camille Olson, So.; Haley Paul, Sr.; Nicole Pennes, So.; Lindsay Prescott, Fr.; Brianna Smith, Jr.; Angela Spadafino, Jr.; Maureen Stringham, Fr.; Kauren Tarver, Fr.; Natasa Vulic, Fr.; Ashley Wimmer, Fr.

Men's roster: Michael Anderson, Fr.; Nectaly Barbosa, Fr.; Brandon Bethke, Jr.; Matt Boughton, Fr.; Derek Cardinale, Fr.; Santos Castro, Sr.; Alonso Contreras, Sr.; Collin Eckelman, So.; Ben Engelhardt, So.; Steven Ems, Fr.; Jordan Hall, Fr.; Dylan Hatcher, Fr; Jeff Helmer, Jr.; Ben Jankunas, Fr.; John Kline, Fr.; Daniel Lovell, Fr.; Zach Mason, Fr.; Mason McHenry, Fr.; David Mehlhorn Sr.; Patrick Milloy, So.; Craig Nobles, Jr.; Stephen Olsen, So.; Thomas Petersen, Fr.; Noah Shannon, So.; Sandy Skouson, So.