Nov. 10, 2007

Complete Results

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Led by four All-Region performances, the 13th-ranked University of Louisville men's cross country team earned the program's first ever automatic bid to the NCAA Championships with a second-place finish overall at Saturday's NCAA Southeast Regional at E.P. "Tom" Sawyer Park. The men narrowly missed on a regional title falling one point short of No. 11-ranked North Carolina State, while the U of L women's team improved three positions from 2006 to finish 11th overall at the event, co-hosted by U of L and the Greater Louisville Sports Commission.

The Cardinal men, racing for the first time since winning the program's first ever conference title at the BIG EAST Championships on Oct. 27, had four runners finish in the top 13 positions to score 70 points overall, just one point shy of back-to-back Southeast Regional champion NC State with 69 points. The Cards, whose previous best finish at an NCAA Regional event was third-place in 2006, earned one of 18 automatic bids to the NCAA Championships, set for Monday, Nov. 19 in Terre Haute, Ind. Last year, U of L earned an at-large bid and finished 15th overall for the program's best ever national finish.

"It's a good feeling to know we're going to Terre Haute and the NCAA Championships," said Cards' head coach Ron Mann. "We had a chance today to win our first regional title and just missed on that, but we're very pleased with our finish and with where we're at going into the national championships. Today was another great day for our program and we expect to take the momentum we've gained from the last few weeks into next week's NCAA Championships."

Finishing close behind the Cards and just missing on an automatic bid was No. 25 William & Mary with 74 points, while No. 9-ranked Virginia was a distant fourth with 116 points. Liberty, led by 2007 and three-time NCAA Southeast Regional champion Josh McDougal, was fifth overall with 168 points.

Leading the way for the Cards was senior Wesley Korir with a career-best regional finish of third-place with a time of 29 minutes, 43.70 seconds across the 10-kilometer course. Korir, a native of Eldoret, Kenya, is now a three-time All-Region performer improving eight positions on his previous best finish of 11th at last year's event. In six events in 2007, Korir has two wins, two runner-up finishes, one third-place and one fifth-place.

"I can't say enough good things about the way Wesley has improved over the last three years and the way he's running right now," Mann said. "He's such a strong leader for this team and every guy on our squad has responded to that by continuing to improve to make us an even better team top to bottom."

Joining Korir with All-Region finishes on Saturday were junior Cory Thorne with a regional career-best finish of fifth in the field of 200 runners with a time of 29:56.60, while senior Soimo Kiplagat also earned a career-best finish at a regional with his seventh-best time of 29:57.25. Sophomore Michael Eaton was the fourth Cardinal earning All-Region honors with the 13th-place time of 30:24.10.

"To have three guys finish in the top 13 positions in this region is absolutely amazing and something our guys should gain confidence from," Mann said. "I think our guys realize what kind of opportunity is in front of them at the NCAA Championships and we're looking forward to building on last year's 15th-place finish."

Closing the scoring for the Cards was sophomore Matt Smith in 42nd-place with a time of 31:23.65. Also competing for U of L on Saturday was senior captain Thad Schroeder in 82nd with a time of 32:10.65 and sophomore Scott McClain in 83rd at 32:10.85. Liberty's McDougal rebounded from last year's narrow defeat at the NCAA Regional by winning the 2007 edition with a course record time of 29:30.70, while Eastern Kentucky's Jacob Korir, the 2006 NCAA Southeast Regional champion, was second with a time of 29:36.10.

On the women's side, the Cards had two runners, sophomore Tarah McKay and freshman Emily Borsare, earn All-Region honors as U of L scored 278 points overall to finish in 11th-place. The Cards improved three positions from last year's 14th-place team finish and added a second All-Region performer, one more than last year.

Overall, No. 21 NC State and unranked Duke earned the automatic bids to the NCAA Championships finishing first and second respectively. The Wolfpack finished with 106 points, while the Blue Devils finished with 114 points. No. 26 North Carolina was third with 124 points, followed by Kentucky in fourth with 141 points and Virginia Tech in fifth with 155 points.

For the Cards, McKay, from St. Clements, Ont., finished 11th overall in the field of 225 runners with a time of 20:51.20 across the 6-kilometer course, while Borsare, from Peachtree City, Ga., was 21st with a time of 21:10.65. North Carolina's Brianna Felnagle won the women's title with a time of 19:52.25.

"Tarah and Emily did a nice job today and our women's team is continuing to improve each week," said Mann. "We've made up a lot of ground since last season and I know there's even more improvement there. We're not where we want to be, but we're putting the pieces in place for a very strong team in the very near future."

Also scoring points for the Cards on Saturday was senior Taryn Gibson in 60th-place with a time of 21:49.80, while sophomore Kelsey Page was 90th with a time of 22:18.80 and freshman Lotte Jacobs closed the scoring in 103rd with a time of 22:35.40. Also competing for U of L was senior Sarah Weir in 133rd with a time of 22:59.70 and sophomore Kat Alcorn in 168th at 23:45.80.

"We believe Tarah will have a good shot at earning an at-large bid to the NCAA Championships for a second straight year and that's something we're really hoping for," said Mann. "We had three events at home this fall and I want to thank each and every fan to came out and supported our teams and these events. We're building a strong track and field and cross country fan base in this community and it's a lot of fun for our athletes to compete in front of so many supportive fans."

Up next, U of L's McKay will await the official release of the at-large individual bids to the NCAA Championships, which will be announced on Sunday at 7 p.m. ET on NCAASports.com.

NCAA Southeast Regional
Louisville, Ky. - Nov. 10, 2007
Men: 10 km / Women: 6 km


MENS RACE RESULTS (29 Teams)
1.	No. 11 NC State		69 points
2.	No. 13 LOUISVILLE	70 points
3.	No. 25 William & Mary	74 points
4.	No. 9 Virginia 		116 points
5.	Liberty			168 points
6.	Clemson			188 points
7.	Virginia Tech		228 points
8.	Eastern Kentucky	231 points
9.	Wake Forest		282 points
10.	Appalachian State	284 points


U of L Men's Individual Finishers (Field of 200)
3.	Wesley Korir	29:43.70
5.	Cory Thorne	29:56.60
7.	Soimo Kiplagat	29:57.25
13.	Michael Eaton	30:24.10
42.	Matt Smith	31:23.65
82.	Thad Schroeder	32:10.65
83.	Scott McClain	32:10.85


WOMENS RACE RESULTS (31 Teams)
1.	No. 21 NC State		106 points
2.	Duke			114 points
3.	No. 26 North Carolina	124 points
4.	Kentucky		141 points
5.	Virginia Tech		155 points
6.	Virginia		166 points
7.	Liberty			223 points
8.	Wake Forest		233 points
9.	Richmond		257 points
10.	William & Mary		269 points
11.	LOUISVILLE		278 points


U of L Women's Individual Finishers (Field of 225)
11.	Tarah McKay	20:52.20
21.	Emily Borsare	21:10.65
60.	Taryn Gibson	21:49.80
90.	Kelsey Page	22:18.80
103.	Lotte Jacobs	22:35.40
133.	Sarah Weir	22:59.70
168.	Kat Alcorn	23:45.80