By any measure, the accomplishments of the 2006 Kentucky cross country squads were a great success. Though the results on the course were not always what the Wildcats would have hoped, UK made great strides in team building and individual improvement, all while implementing the new system brought by first-year distance coach Pat Tyson.
The season was a lesson in perseverance for Tyson, both personally and professionally. The former Oregon standout had been in Lexington less than eight weeks after arriving from Mead (Wash.) High School, where he had built a track dynasty, when he was hit by a car during his morning jog.
Despite having two broken feet, Tyson was in the office later that day recruiting and preparing his team for its upcoming meet. Perhaps Tyson’s biggest success in his first season was instilling that kind of work-ethic and perseverance in his ne team.
“This past year was a successful season for us,” Tyson said. “The kids believed in what we were trying to do and really bought into the new system that we implemented. I love the closeness that I saw in our team and that’s important because the team is everything.”
Kentucky began its 2006 season at the Eastern Kentucky Invitational in Richmond, Ky.
Four Kentucky runners finished in the top five of the women?s 2-mile race with senior Georganne Way leading all Wildcats with a time of 11:15. The women defeated Eastern Kentucky 19-38 and Marshall 16-47. The men, who ran two separate 2-mile races, were led by transfer John Thompson, who finished in fourth place with a combined 4-mile time of 19:18, followed by junior Andre Silva (19:32 ? 5th). The men defeated Marshall 15-50, while Eastern Kentucky topped the Wildcats 19-36.
Way was named the Southeastern Conference Female Athlete of the Week for her performance at the EKU Invitational
After the early-season tune-up, Kentucky traveled to Bowling Green, Ky., to participate in the Old Timer?s Classic.
Four Kentucky women finished in the race?s top 10 to highlight the race hosted by Western Kentucky University. The women finished first out of 10 teams with a 33, while the men?s squad finished second with a 59 behind Eastern Kentucky?s 32.
Sophomore Taylor Miller led the women?s squad with a personal-best 5K time of 17:37, while Way finished fourth with a time of 17:54, also a personal best in the 5K. On the men?s side, Silva finished fifth in the 5-mile race with a time of 26:07 to lead the Wildcats.
After a week off, Kentucky traveled to the largest cross country meet ever to be held in the Bluegrass State – the Greater Louisville Classic.
The women?s squad, which had its top four runners finish within 23 seconds of one another, finished in fifth place as a team in the 5K race with a score of 163, while the men concluded the 8K race in sixth place with a 265.
Sophomore Andrea Halasek led the way for the women?s squad, finishing in 18th place with a time of 18:25. Junior Liliane Sparkes finished directly behind Halasek in 19th place with a time of 18:27. The one-two punch of Silva and Richardson led the way for the Kentucky men. Silva finished in 18th place with a time of 24:57, while Richardson followed in 19th place with a 24:59.
Having gained great experience by opening the season with three consecutive meets in the state of Kentucky, the Wildcats headed West for the Cal-Poly Invitational.
Led by Silva and Richardson, who finished first and second individually, the Wildcat men finished the 8K race in first place with a 32, while the women finished second in the 5K with a 62 behind Oregon State?s 43. Silva captured the race with a time of 26:01.5, while Richardson was closely behind in second place with a time of 26:01.9. Miller led the way for the UK women, finishing fifth with a time of 18:12.
The Cats then traveled to Baton Rouge, La., to compete in the Southeastern Conference Championships. The women finished sixth and the men were seventh against stiff league competition.
On the women?s side, Miller finished 24th overall with a time of 21:09, while Halasek was 37th overall with a 21:42. The next three Kentucky runners finished within three seconds of each other. Richardson led the Kentucky men in 17th place with a time of 24:47, while Silva was the squad?s No. 2 runner in 45th place.
At the NCAA Regionals in Louisville, Ky., it appeared as if the men would send Richardson to the NCAA Championships in Terre Haute, Ind. Richardson was among the race?s top 10 individually at the 3K mark. The senior, competing in the final race of his collegiate career, was forced to withdraw, however, after experiencing soreness in his Achilles tendon that prevented him from finishing the race.
Without its top runner, the men?s squad posted a respectable 16th place, while the women?s squad finished in an impressive eighth place. Miller led the Wildcats for the third consecutive meet with a time of 21:45 to finish in 38th place. Balance again proved to be a key for the UK women as each of the team?s first three runners were within 14 seconds of one another.
And though the 2006 season left the Wildcat harriers hungry for more, it also laid a foundation of excellence under Tyson upon which to build much future success.
