Western Athletic Conference Cross-Country : San Diego State Winds Up in Third : Cramps Slow Clayton; Wyoming’s Wodny Finishes First

After the Western Athletic Conference men’s cross-country championship race at Balboa Park Saturday morning, San Diego State’s Matt Clayton was still running.

In a driving rain, Clayton was trying to run through the pain caused by cramps that earlier had led to his loss of an eight-second lead with less than a mile remaining in the eight-kilometer (4.95-mile) race. There also was the pain of seeing the favored Aztecs finish a distant third in the team standings.

Wyoming’s John Wodny caught Clayton on the final hill and went on to win his second straight WAC individual title in 22 minutes 56 seconds and lead Wyoming to its second straight WAC team title. John Aalberg (23:07) of Utah was second and Tim Kamili (23:23) of Texas El Paso finished third. Clayton was fourth in 23:25.

Wyoming, ranked No. 16 in the nation, placed four runners in the top 10 to take first place with 40 points. Brigham Young had 44 and SDSU 92.

The Aztecs entered the race ranked 13th in the nation and were favored to win their first WAC cross-country title.

However, Clayton was the team’s only top 10 placer. The four other runners scoring for the Aztecs were: Paul Greer (16th, 23:59), Ken Flint (18th, 24:05), Juan Naranjo (24th, 24:17) and Ari Schauder (30th, 24:23).

“We were leading at two miles, but at three miles we started to fade back,” SDSU Coach Tom Lux said. “These guys are veterans; they can handle the pressure (of being the favorites). We hadn’t had a bad race all season. It’s too bad it had to happen at the WAC championships.”

Clayton, a junior, appeared strong at the start and had a six-second lead through much of the race. But he developed cramps at about the three-mile mark.

“I thought my appendix was going to pop,” Clayton said. “He (Wodny) caught me going up the hill. When I started cramping, I knew it was over.

“That should have been my race. It was my race for four miles. Why did I cramp up like that?”

Wodny, a junior, also sensed that Clayton was in trouble.

“He really took off and took control of the race,” Wodny said. “About a third of the way up the hill, he grabbed his side, and I knew he was tiring.”

After the race, the runners and coaches huddled in a cottage near the course to escape the rain and receive their awards. When Clayton’s name was announced, he came jogging in from outside, where he had been running.

After the awards were handed out, Clayton was asked if he was finished running for the day.

“I’m going to run some more,” he said. “I’m upset. I’ll probably run again tonight.”