Skyline's age beats opponents' youth
Trojans win first women's cross country championship

San Mateo Times, Nov. 1, 2000

By John Baker
STAFF WRITER

SAN FRANCISCO -- Age and guile beats youth every time.

With only one member younger than the campus they attend, the Skyline College women's cross country team became the San Bruno school's first ever women's conference champion Wednesday with a convincing win at the Coast Conference Finals in Golden Gate Park.

The College of San Mateo men finished third and CSM women fifth to join the Trojans at next week's Northern California finals in Rocklin.

Forty-two year-old Christine Chapon led Skyline with a second-place finish of 20:09 over the 3.1 mile course. She was 24 seconds behind winner Celeste Dunlap of West Valley College.

"I've been using her (to pace), I've been staying with her a long as I can," said Chapon, who immigrated to the United States from France 10 years ago. "It was a great weather, it was a great course. I had everything going right today."

A fifth place finish by Shaun Larsen --the 42-year-old wife of Menlo College athletic director Keith Larsen -- (20:34) and a sixth by45-year-old Donna Hinshan (20:47) helped give Skyline crucial high placings.

Latvian immigrant Dace Samta was CSM's top female finisher, running in 20:20.

"It was the last race of the season and everybody's just trying to do their best," she said.

The average age of the eight-member Skyline women's team is 38 years old, with 46-year-old freshman Susan Yasuhara the eldest.

"The team environment really helps people out," Hinshan said. "We all get excited and it's neat for slightly more mature women to come out and beat varsity athletes."

Lydia Church, 40, and a mother of four, finished 10th in 21;34. She said she started jogging after a doctor said it would help her get over her fatigue.

"One day I started walking and after a year of that I started running and it took off," she said. "I was asking (her kids), 'You guys, should I go fast in this race, should I take my time?' And they were giving me all kids of suggestions, then (her son) Jimmy says, 'Mom, just kick some ass!'"

The Skyline men are no spring chickens, either. Rounding out the pack Wednesday, but still finishing to rousing cheers, was 67-year-old Gerald Heinz, who finished with a time of 28:11 -- 8:17 behind winner Eddie Alaniz of San Jose City College.

West Valley won the men's team race, but CSM edged out City College of San Francisco for third place. Blaine Ashley, who finished 11th in 21:00, was the Bulldogs' top finisher.

"Our No. 1 guy didn't run as fast as he could. He ran about 20 seconds faster here in October," said CSM coach Joe Mangan. "But everybody else (on the team) ran about 20 seconds faster (Wednesday). That's the improvement we made. We should have a good shot at making the state meet if we keep up."

The women's conference championship was the first for Skyline since it opened in 1969.