Meet Notes

HONOLULU - The University of Hawai'i women's cross country team returns to action this weekend by competing in the Hawai'i Pacific Invitational Saturday, Oct. 11. The 5K race will take place at HPU's grass course in Kane'ohe, O'ahu.

The Rainbow Wahine have competed in three meets this season. Sophomore Mariana Monasi was the team's top finisher in each race.

Last season, the Rainbow Wahine finished third at the HPU Invite and Chantelle Wilder made it a clean sweep of local meets winning her fourth race of the season.

The HPU Invite is one of two remaining races left for Hawai'i before it competes in the Western Athletic Conference Championship, Nov. 1, in Las Cruces, N.M.

Meet #4
What: Hawai'i Pacific Invitational, 5K
Date: Saturday, Oct. 11
Time: 4:00 p.m.
Where: HPU Grass Course, Kane'ohe, O'ahu

Leader of the Pack
Sophomore Mariana Monasi has proven to be the Rainbow Wahine's top runner this season. The Oceanside, Calif., native recorded team-best times in UH's first three races and had two Top 12 performances (2nd at Chaminade Invitational and 6th at Big Wave Invitational). Monasi transferred to UH last season after attending the University of San Diego as a freshman.

Welcome Aboard
The Rainbow Wahine welcome Althea Belgrave as the team's new assistant cross country coach. Belgrave comes to UH from Florida State, where she served as a graduate assistant. A native of St. John, Barbados, Belgrave competed at Idaho for four seasons. She is a three-time Barbadian national 800-meter and 1500-meter champion earned all-Big West Conference honors in 1997 in the 800-meter. Belgrave also held the national Barbadian record in the 1500-meter event.

Tough Schedule Ahead
UH will compete in five regular season meets as well as the Western Athletic Conference Championship and NCAA West Regionals. Of those seven meets, four will be held on the mainland - the 6K Stanford Invitational, 5K Santa Clara Invitational, 5K WAC Championships and 6K NCAA West Regionals.

Recapping the Stanford Invitational
STANFORD, Calif. – The Rainbow Wahine completed the Stanford Invitational with a 30th place finish. The 6K race was held at the Stanford Golf Course. More than 270 athletes and 33 teams competed in the annual event, won by host Stanford with a combined 43 points. Sophomore Mariana Monasi led the Rainbow Wahine, crossing the finish line in 23:58 for 131st place. Junior Tava Tedesco completed the 6K course in 24:36 for 158th place. Also scoring points for UH were Liisa Cushing (25:14, 178th), Samantha Lotnick (27:20, 210th), and Gina Nourmohamadian (27:31, 213th). Briana Goodnight competed as an individual and placed 214th with a time of 27:41.

Head Coach Carmyn James
Hawai'i head coach Carmyn James is in her ninth season at the helm of the women's cross country and track and field programs. Under her tutelage, two runners qualified for the NCAA Cross Country Championships, including Cheryl Smith's first place finish at the 2001 WAC Championships.