FRESNO, Calif. (Nov. 9) -- Tim LeCount of Seattle Pacific University finished eighth and teammate Nathanael Castle was 16th at the NCAA Division II West Regional Cross Country Championships on Saturday at Woodward Park.

LeCount (Fr., Battle Ground, Wa.), continuing his strong finish to the season, just missed in his bid to qualify for the NCAA Championships. The top two individuals from non-qualifying teams--or any individual placing among the top five--earn berths. LeCount matched Castle's best-ever regional finish by an SPU male and was timed in 33 minutes, 5 seconds over the 10-kilometer course. Castle (Sr., Gooding, Id.), who had been a national qualifier a year ago, finished in 33:33.

"I'm very pleased with these two guys," said SPU Coach Doris Heritage. "Tim was especially awesome, being the second freshman among all the runners. He just continued to overtake runners all along."

Western Washington's Paul Kezes, the Great Northwest Athletic Conference champion, won the men's individual title. Kezes was timed in 31:58--12 seconds in front of Chico State's Chris Eggers. Joining Kezes as the other individual qualifiers were Mark Batres of Cal Poly Pomona third in 32:25) and Pete Clusener of Humboldt State (fourth in 32:29)

Chico State won the men's team title with 43 points, snapping a four-year championship run by UC Davis, which was second (86). Alaska Anchorage of the GNAC placed third (105). The top three teams go to nationals.

Taking the women's individual crown was Cal State L.A.'s Ann Marie Housen, who was clocked in 21:27 over the 6-kilometer course. Hawaii Pacific's Sayuri Kusutani was second in 21:48.

UC Davis successfully defended its women's title, its fifth in six years, winning by five points, 86 to 91, over Chico State. UC San Diego was third (126). Seattle Pacific did not send a team nor any individual women.

Men's Results
Team scores: 1-Chico State 43, 2-UC Davis 86, 3-Alaska Anchorage 105, 4-UC San Diego 113, 5-Humboldt State 120, 6-Northwest Nazarene 146, 7-Western Washington 179, 8-Cal Poly Pomona 194, 9-Western Oregon 202, 10-Hawaii Pacific 213, 11-Seattle University 299, 12-Central Washington 313, 13-Chaminade 420, 14-BYU Hawaii 434, 15-Saint Martin's 449, 16-San Francisco State 494
Winner: Paul Kezes, Western Washington, 31:58
SPU finishers: 8-LeCount, 33:05; 16-Castle, 33:33