Men's Cross Country Concludes Season With Ninth Place Finish at 2008 NCAA Southeast Regionals
Nov. 15, 2008
CLEMMONS, N.C. - The University of Louisville women's cross country team led by a pair of All-Region performances finished sixth at Saturday's 2008 NCAA Southeast Regional Championship held at Tanglewood Park in Clemmons, N.C., while the men came in ninth. The sixth-place finish for the Cardinal women was the highest ever in program history. "I am very proud of the way both teams competed today," said U of L head coach Brice Allen. "It was an improvement over the BIG EAST Championships and we are very pleased with the outcome." Junior Tarah McKay and sophomore Emily Borsare scored the All-Region nods after completing the 6,000-meter course fifth and 24th, respectively. Virginia Tech's Tasmin Fanning won the women's individual title with a time of 20:07.8 McKay finished the 6k race in 20:42.0 to claim her third consecutive All-Region honor, while Borsare picked up her second straight award after crossing with a time of 21:42.2. "I thought McKay and Borsare ran exceptionally well today and it is a great honor for them to come away as All-Region performers," said Allen. "We are hopeful that McKay will earn a bid to the NCAA Championships." Narrowly missing out on an All-Region bid was junior Kim Grieshaber who finished 27th in the field of 231 with a personal best time of 21:49.9. Rounding out the scoring for the Cards were Kelsey Page in 76th with a time of 22:41.4 and Kathryn Long 89th in 22:53.2. Others finishing the race were Kat Alcorn and Kortni Dukes. The Cards scored 221 points while improving five positions from a year ago to take sixth overall out of 33 teams and in the process made history by recording the highest finish ever at the NCAA regionals for the women's cross country program. "The women's team ran really well today and it showed with their highest regional finish ever in program history," said Allen. "I am optimistic about their future and expect great things from them going forward." Virginia won the meet with 105 points while Kentucky came in second with 126 points to both earn automatic bids the NCAA Championships. Following an NCAA Championship appearance and a runner-up finish at last year's regionals, the Cardinal men finished ninth with 253 points. U of L placed three runners in the top 50 and was led by sophomore Matt Bruce who completed the 10,000-meter course in 31:38.1 to earn 30th overall. "The men's team continues to get better and it was great to see Bruce run the way he did today," said Allen. Junior Scott McClain set a personal best time of 31:44.7 to attain his highest regional finish ever at 37th, while redshirt-freshman Matt Hughes took 42nd with a time of 31:57. Recording 59th and 88th place overall were freshmen Luke Lovelace and Chase Violet with times of 32:19.6 and 33:06.5, respectively, to complete the scoring. Freshmen Gordon Dooley was also a finisher for the Cards. Neither Louisville team graduates anyone from this year's roster. It was also the first attempt at a 10k collegiate course for the four freshmen on the men's squad. The women will return six juniors and a sophomore. William and Mary took home the team championship but just barely as they finished with a total of 66 points to top Virginia by one point. Both teams earned automatic bids to the NCAA Championship. Liberty's Samuel Chelanga was the men's individual champion with a time of 29:53.4. U of L runner Tarah McKay must now await the official release of the at-large team and individual bids to the NCAA Championships on Sunday. A total of 31 men's and women's teams each along with 38 individual runners will earn bids to the NCAA Championships to be held at the LaVern Gibson Championship Course on Nov. 24 in Terre Haute, Ind. NCAA Southeast Regional Championship Tanglewood State Park - Clemmons, N.C. - Nov. 15, 2008 Men: 10 km / Women: 6 km
|
2009 Season2008 SeasonMiscellaneous |
|
|
|
