Loucaides Takes Final Run At Pac-10s WSU Cross Country Veteran Hopes To Make His Perseverance Pay Off

When Washington State cross country coach Li Li tells his athletes the importance of following in George Loucaides’ footsteps, he doesn’t just mean they should take the same path on the racecourse.

“With him being our top runner and team captain, the younger kids look up to him as something to shoot for, so we’ll tell them, look at George, he doesn’t get there by just fooling around,” Li said.

“He’s a very serious and very dedicated person in everything he does. His life here at WSU has been studying and running and not much else. He’s a very serious student who works very hard.”

Loucaides aims to improve on his 11th-place finish in last year’s Pacific-10 Conference meet when he leads the Cougars into competition Saturday at the Stanford Golf Course.

Arizona, led by Bob Keino, returns to defend the men’s title over the 8,000-meter course, while Stanford aims for a third straight women’s crown over 5,000 meters.

“I know there’s some very strong guys from Oregon (Matt Davis and Karl Keska) and a guy from Arizona (Keino) and a guy from UCLA (Mebrahtom Keflezighi) who have run some fast times,” said Loucaides, a native of the Mediterranean island of Cyprus.

“But I’ve improved my times over last year, so my goal is to be in the top six.”

The plan for Loucaides is to stay with the lead pack - particularly close to Davis, a Mead High grad who placed fifth last year.

“I need to make sure I go out faster than I have in previous races this year,” Loucaides said. “I want to be sure I spend all my energy and not finish thinking I have more left in me.”

It’s doubtful that the dedicated Loucaides would perform at less than his potential.

His no-nonsense approach to sport and school began at a young age.

“My goal was to be a great athlete and I realized that to achieve that, you have to make sacrifices and put all your effort into it,” he said. “When I came to college, I put that same attitude into my studies; I take that seriously, it’s my future and it’s important to me.”

Important enough that he has compiled a GPA in the 3.5-plus range in exercise studies.

A two-year, mandatory stretch in the military after high school helped hone this discipline. During his service, he also found time to train and, at age 19, he won the European junior steeplechase championship.

Loucaides has exhausted his track eligibility, meaning he is in the homestretch of his WSU career.

“This is my last Pac-10 championship, so I’m looking to perform my best,” Loucaides said. “I think I expected more from myself (through the years), but I’ve had some injuries to overcome and I think I’ve helped the team, scoring points in crucial moments; I’ve enjoyed being with this team.”

Li doesn’t realistically expect the Cougar men or women to challenge for the title. Sophomore Kristin Liebich, though, could score well for the women individually.

Idaho and Eastern Washington won’t engage in Big Sky Conference competition until the regionals on Nov. 11, but Gonzaga goes against West Coast Conference foes Saturday at Belmont, Calif.

The GU men, behind a fourth-place finish by Jon Neill, took second to nationally ranked Portland last year, while the GU women were third, with Andrea Harris placing fourth.

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