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Cross Country Men's Team and McKay Head to NCAA Championships on Monday
Men's 10k race begins at 12:08 p.m. ET, followed by women's 6k race at 12:58 p.m.
 
U of L head coach Brice Allen

U of L head coach Brice Allen

Nov. 21, 2009

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The no. 23 ranked University of Louisville men's cross country team and senior Tarah McKay will compete at the 2009 NCAA Championships on Monday in Terre Haute, Ind. at the LaVern Gibson Championship Course.

The men's 10,000-meter race will begin at 12:08 p.m. ET and will be followed by the women's 6,000-meter race at 12:58 p.m. Both races will be nationally televised on Versus Network and streamed online through www.ncaa.com.

The Cardinal men earned one of 13 at-large bids to the national championships following a third place finish at the NCAA Southeast Regional Championships on Nov. 14. This is the third overall bid to the NCAA Championship for the men's squad and first since 2007 when they placed a school record ninth. It is also second year head coach Brice Allen's first time that he has advanced his team to the event.

U of L is led by three All-Region team members in senior Cory Thorne; redshirt junior Michael Eaton and junior Matt Bruce. Also competing will be senior Scott McClain, redshirt sophomore Matt Hughes and sophomores Luke Lovelace and Chase Violet.

On the women's side, McKay earned her first individual automatic bid to the NCAA Championship after finishing third out of 237 runners at the regional championship. This marks the third time McKay has qualified for the national championship, with the previous two coming in 2008; when she placed 72nd to record the Cardinal women's individual highest finish ever and 2006; when she took 106th overall as a freshman.

 

 

McKay won the Mid-America Opener, while finishing runner-up at the Greater Louisville Classic and Midwest Open. She has been the Cards number one runner since her arrival in 2006, a streak of 25 races. Over that period, the St. Clements, Ont. native has six career victories, three runner-up finishes and been named All-Region and All-BIG EAST Performer four straight seasons.

A total of 31 teams were selected to compete in each championship, while 38 individuals were also selected to participate in each championship through an automatic qualifier and at-large selection process.

For a complete list of qualifiers and more information on the 2009 NCAA Cross Country Championships, visit www.ncaa.com.

For the most up-to-date information on Louisville Cross Country, visit www.uoflsports.com.

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