College Roundup: Hasay runs to West Region Athlete of the Year honors

Jordan Hasay, a Mission Prep graduate who is now an Oregon standout, secured her second consecutive USTFCCCA Women’s West Region Athlete of the Year honor Wednesday.

The junior from Arroyo Grande became the first Oregon runner to capture back-to-back NCAA West Region titles in school history after she won last Saturday’s regional 6K race in Stanford in 19 minutes, 44 seconds.

The regional honor adds to Hasay’s already impressive season résumé. She was third at the Pac-12 Championships and opened the season with a second-place showing at the Wisconsin Adidas Invitational.

The USTFCCCA also announced that Cal Poly’s Mark Conover was named the men’s West Region Cross Country Coach of the Year for the third time.

Conover’s Mustangs placed third in this past weekend’s NCAA West Regional, thanks to two runners finishing in the top 20, and the other five ended up in the top 47.

Cal Poly, which won the Big West title for the 11th time this fall under Conover’s 15-year watch, will compete in the NCAA Championships on Monday in Terre Haute, Ind. Hasay and the Oregon men’s and women’s teams will also participate in the national meet.

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

Cal Poly 82, San Francisco 66

Led by Kristina Santiago’s career-best 36 points, the Mustangs improved to 1-1 with the nonleague road win.

Santiago hit 14 of 27 field goals, connected on 7 of 9 from the free-throw line and pulled down 15 rebounds, matching a career high. Christine Martin finished with a career-high 12 points off the bench, and Brittany Woodard had 11.

Cal Poly held a 43-34 halftime lead after a dominant performance from Santiago, who had 23 points and 10 rebounds in the first half. The Mustangs had a 57-44 advantage with 10:50 left.

Rheina Ale led San Francisco (1-2) with 27 points, while teammate Mel Khlok added 10. The Dons cut the double-digit deficit to nine with 5:19 left, but Cal Poly closed the game with a 7-2 run.

BASEBALL

Cal Poly schedule announced

The 2012 schedule will include home series against opponents from some of nation’s best conferences, such as the Big 12, Big Ten and Pac-12.

The Mustangs will open the season by hosting Oklahoma State for a three-game set Feb. 17-19 and also will entertain Washington for three games March 9-11 and San Diego State for four games March 23-25.

Cal Poly’s Big West Conference schedule will feature a three-game home series against NCAA Super Regional qualifier UC Irvine on April 5-7. The Mustangs will also welcome Long Beach State on March 30-April 1, followed by Pacific on April 27-29 and UC Santa Barbara on May 18-20.

“We’re always trying to put together a competitive schedule that will prepare us well for a very challenging Big West schedule,” said Cal Poly coach Larry Lee, whose Mustangs had their ninth winning season last year since 2000 after finishing 27-26 overall (15-9 in the Big West).