BYU-Hawaii, HPU, Academy of Art vying for 2009 Hawaiian Airlines PacWest XC title

SAN FRANCISCO, CA - BYU-Hawaii, Hawai‘i Pacific and Academy of Art are expected to duel for the 2009 Hawaiian Airlines Pacific West Conference Men's Cross Country Championship on Saturday morning, Oct. 31, when the teams attempt to chase down the league title.

Course Map

BYU-Hawaii received four first-place votes and the nod for the team most likely to claim this year's conference title. The Seasiders will get a chance to dethrone reigning PacWest Champion Hawai‘i Pacific at 10 a.m. in San Francisco, CA, at Golden Gate Park. The event will be held on an 8K course.

The Sea Warriors received no first-place votes but enough runner-up selections to land second on the balloting. Academy of Art, which received a trio of first-place votes, was slated to finish third in its first year of team eligibility.

Hawai‘i Hilo claimed fourth place in the pre-race voting, while Notre Dame de Namur (5^th), Grand Canyon (6^th) and Chaminade (7^th) closed out the prediction. Dominican (CA) and Dixie State do not sponsor cross country programs at this time.

The PacWest Pre-Championship Predicted Order of Finish was voted upon by the head coach or designated representative from each of the seven schools sponsoring cross country.

The top seven individual finishers in Saturday's race will earn All-PacWest First Team honors, while those crossing the finish line 8-14 will be considered All-PacWest Second Team.

Last season Dany Malley (Mississaugua, Ontario, Canada/St. Famille Secondary - left) led the Sea Warriors to the conference title with his fifth-place overall finish and top performance among PacWest eligible teams. He was named All-PacWest First Team.

Malley returns this weekend to run for an individual title and a chance to regain All-PacWest accolades. The top seven runners earn All-PacWest First Team honors, while Second Team accolades belong to those who finish 8-14.

In addition to Malley, BYU-Hawaii senior Brendan McMaster (Tempe, AZ/Corona Del Sol) and Hawai‘i Hilo senior Garrett McAllister (Los Alamitos, CA/Los Alamitos - right) return for another crack at the title after earning All-PacWest First Team accolades in 2008. McMaster claimed PacWest Runner of the Week honors on Sept. 14.

HPU senior Kevin Enriques (Honolulu, HI/Education Lab), BYU-Hawaii junior Brandon Krout (Vancouver, WA/Prarie), and Hawai‘i Hilo senior Stefano Barbaris Rochabrun (Hilo, HI/Hilo) all claimed PacWest Second Team accolades in 2008 and will be in the running to move up this year.

BYU-Hawaii junior Spencer Davila (Mesa, AZ/Highland - top right) will make his PacWest Championship debut with a pair of Runner of the Week awards - earned on Sept. 28 and Oct. 12 - in his file.

In 2008 the top four individual places went to runners from Academy of Art, but the Urban Knights could not qualify for the team championship.

This year they can with sophomore Amos Maru (Nandi Hills, Kenya - left), the PacWest Men's Runner of the Week on Sept.21 and Oct.5, and Daveson Marindich (Eldoret, Kenya).