Originally published Saturday, November 1, 2008 at 12:00 AM

UW cross country scores unprecedented sweep of top spots

The No. 1 Washington Huskies put a stunning stamp on their national ranking with an unprecedented sweep of the top six positions at the...

By Seattle Times staff

SPRINGFIELD, Ore. — The No. 1 Washington Huskies put a stunning stamp on their national ranking with an unprecedented sweep of the top six positions at the Pac-10 women's cross-country championships Friday.

Kendra Schaaf led the parade of Huskies across the finish line, shattering the course record by 33 seconds. Her time of 19 minutes, 24 seconds also broke the Pac-10 course record for 6,000 meters.

"I just wanted to go out and run," said Schaaf, a freshman from Craven, Saskatchewan. "The strategy is we're stronger when we are all running together. That's how we usually run."

The Huskies' dominating performance turned a showdown with second-ranked Oregon into a 40-point rout. It marked the first time in Pac-10 history, men's or women's, that a team earned a perfect score of 15 by sweeping the top five places.

"We talk to five or six women about winning a race, so we thought there was a chance this could happen," said Washington coach Greg Metcalf. "But we have more work to do. Our goal is to get better every week. We're better now than we were two weeks ago, and we have to be better three weeks from now."

Stanford, which had a streak of 12 conference women's titles snapped, was third with 99. Washington State was fifth.

The Washington men finished third with 104 points for their best showing since 2003. Oregon, led by the top two individuals, Galen Rupp and Luke Puskedra, won with 28, and Stanford was second with 47. WSU finished sixth.

In the women's race, Schaaf led from start to finish to become the first Pac-10 champion from UW since Regina Joyce won the inaugural race in 1982.

It marks the UW women's second Pac-10 title, the previous one in 1989.

Amazingly, Washington's second through fourth finishers were also under the course record. Sophomore Marie Lawrence was second in 19:53.

The Huskies' next race is the West Regional on Nov. 13.

Team and Pac-10 reports contributed.

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Comments

Absolutely amazing! I watched the streamed video yesterday afternoon and couldn't believe the finish. You often read about a goal of perfection... Posted on November 1, 2008 at 6:08 AM by oldalum. Jump to comment

Amazing performance and a rare feat of dominance. I think cross-country coach Greg Metcalf should take over the Husky football program. Posted on November 1, 2008 at 1:21 PM by oldtom. Jump to comment

Way to go lady Dawgs. Best of luck at the regionals. Dana Posted on November 1, 2008 at 12:21 AM by The Real Dana. Jump to comment

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