“It’s basically a senior-dominated team that has been together for four or five years,” O’Boyle said of the group led by seniors Laura Olvera, Candice Chavez (formerly Candice Proctor, who was married in the off-season), Samantha Constantini and Lauren Chramosta. “I’m really looking forward to coaching this group. I think it’s a very good team.”
UCI, which finished third at the 2007 Big West championships, was picked to finish second in the Big West coaches’ preseason poll this fall. UC Riverside was picked to win, with defending UC Santa Barbara picked to wind up third.
O’Boyle said the biggest anecdote for the nine-inch problem is self-confidence, something most of his road-tested veterans should have.
Olvera, once afflicted by self-doubt, O’Boyle said, has finished in the top three at the Big West finals her first three seasons. She was second in 2006 and 2005, then finished third last season. She was third at the NCAA West Regional and 83rd at the NCAA Championships as a sophomore.
“But she had a bad regional last season [finishing 43rd],” O’Boyle said. “And she didn’t qualify for the NCAAs. She has a fire to make [an NCAAs berth] happen this year. The reports I got about her training over the summer indicate to me that she’s ready to go.”
Chavez, who joined Olvera on the all-conference team last season (afforded the top 10 finishers at the Big West Championships), was 10th at that meet, then went on to finish 26th over the 6,000-meter course at the NCAA West Regional. Chavez was fourth in the 10,000 meters at the 2008 Big West track and field finals.
