Nov. 10, 2007
Lexington, Ky. – After finishing fourth at the NCAA Southeast Regional Cross Country Championship in Louisville’s E. P. `Tom’ Sawyer Park Saturday, the Kentucky women’s cross country team now must wait until 7:00 p.m. ET Sunday to see if they have been selected as one of 13 NCAA at-large squads.
The Wildcats finished behind three Atlantic Coast Conference squads in perfect meet conditions running a 6K course similar to the one they ran six weeks ago. North Carolina State and Duke earned the automatic bids with 106 and 114 points, respectively. North Carolina finished third, led by the overall individual winner Brianna Felnagle’s time of 19:52, gathering 124 points, 17 better than the Cats’ 141 tallies.
“Well, we couldn’t have run any better,” said first-year Kentucky cross country/distance Coach John Mortimer. “Even if they ran better than they’re capable of, we wouldn’t have been any higher. One hundred percent today was fourth and we’re happy with that.”
The top two teams in each of the nine NCAA regionals receive automatic bids into the NCAA National Cross Country Championship in Terre Haute, Ind. on Nov. 19. In addition to those 18 squads, the NCAA cross country subcommittee chooses 13 at-large squads. Teams placing third and fourth in each regional are reviewed on the basis of their season records and compared against teams already in the championship. Kentucky has at least one point in that selection process due to its finish ahead of Duke at the Penn State National Invitational in October.
“Our destiny is in the hands of other teams, depending on how the other regionals go,” said Mortimer. “I think our chances are good because we have run strong all year long. We haven’t had a bad race all year. We beat some good teams like Tennessee and Duke earlier in the year.”
Junior Jessica Ortman led the Cats placing 13th overall with a time of 21:00, while classmate Andrea Halasek clocked in at 21:20 in 23rd place. Both young ladies were honored in post-meet ceremonies by virtue of finishing in the top 25.
The blue and white’s five scoring runners finished in the top 50, the Blue Devils were the only other team to match that feat. Junior Jenna Ortman finished 27th overall with a mark of 21:24. Senior Lavera Morris ran her last meet in the Bluegrass state by taking home 30th place at 21:27. Freshman Katherine Peterson finished the scoring for the Cats, crossing the finish in 21:41, good for 49th overall. UK’s gap from runners one to five was a mere 41 seconds Saturday and has consistently been under a minute all season.
“(Peterson) ran a tremendous race,” said Mortimer. “She ran her best 6K by about 35 seconds. She stepped up today and when the pressure was on, she performed.”
On the men’s side, senior André Silva ended his career at Kentucky with a top finish for the Cats by placing 18th overall on the 10K course in 30:28. Silva was honored in post-meet ceremonies for his top 25 finish.
“André Silva, after a very disappointing SEC championship, came back and showed that he is a tremendous athlete,” said Mortimer. “He ran very well to become all-region, which is phenomenal.”
Kentucky freshman Adam Henken continued his late-season surge to finish second on the team, his best showing of the season. Henken’s time of 31:39 earned him 55th place. The rookie Wildcat was the 7th freshman to cross the line Saturday.
“For Henken to finish in the fifties is absolutely unbelievable for a freshman,” Mortimer said. “To adapt from twice his high school distance, he ran well.”
Senior Chris Long completed his last race in blue and white with a time of 31:47, good for 63rd overall. Junior Bruce Hordusky (31:59 – 73rd) and freshman Eric Schmidt (32:56 – 115th) rounded out the scoring for Kentucky. Senior John Thompson finished just four seconds behind Schmidt at 33:00 in his last career run.
The Wildcats totaled 307 points earning them 12th place overall. The North Carolina State men’s first place finish with 69 points gave the Wolfpack squads a sweep at the championship. The `Pack edged host Louisville by one point to take home the team hardware. The Cardinals earned the second automatic bid by slipping past the Tribe of William and Mary by four points, 70 to 74.
“We had an improvement overall on the men’s team score,” said Mortimer. “We had some very good things happen, but it’s disappointing not to crack the top 10. The good news is that the kids that ran really well for us are our younger athletes. So the future is bright.”
Liberty’s Josh McDougal claimed the overall individual championship and a spot at the NCAA Nationals with a time of 29:30.
Stay tuned to UKathletics.com on Sunday for the latest update on a possible at-large bid for the Kentucky women into the NCAA National Championship meet.
