Sept. 21, 2002

HONOLULU - Freshman Michele Suszek (Alpena, Mich.) placed 14th to lead the UNLV women's cross country team to a tenth-place finish at the University of Hawai'i Big Wave Invitational held at Kualoa Ranch Saturday afternoon.

In the team's first 5K race of the season and against the nation's best, Suszek clocked in a strong finish of 19:50.00. Senior Jessica Zarndt (Las Vegas), UNLV's top distance runner, did not compete due to illness.

Freshman Colleen O'Brien, a local native out of Foothill High School, followed Suszek's stride with a time of 21:29.00 for 41st.

UCLA won the women's team competition with 46 points, while host Hawai'i came in second with 88 points. Hawaii Pacific's Nina Christensen took top individual honors with a winning time of 18:41.90.

UNLV will next compete at the Stanford Invitational on Saturday, Sept. 28 at 4 p.m. in Palo Alto, Calif.

at University of Hawai'i Big Wave Invitational (5K)Kualoa RanchHonolulu, Hawaii
WOMEN'S TEAM SCORING - 1, UCLA, 46. 2, Hawai'i, 88. 3, Oklahoma State, 89.4, San Diego State, 106. 5, Hawaii Pacific, 117. 6, Occidental College, 146.7, Hawai'i-Hilo, 204. 8, BYU, 222. 9, Mt. SAC, 237. 10, UNLV, 244.11, San Francisco, 253. 12, Chaminade, 336. 13, Mills College, 383.
Participant      Place       TimeMichele Suszek (Fr.)    14th        19:50.00Colleen O'Brien (Fr.)   41st        21:29.00Heather Walsh (Jr.) 60th        22:54.70Katie Hughes (Fr.)  61st        23:09.50Kelley Wright (So.) 68th        23:37.10Erin Hammond (Fr.)  70th        23:43.20Monica Mutale (So.) 73rd        24:31.30Lacey Bridges (Jr.) 98th        25:57.90