Aug. 30, 2002
Versailles, Ky. – The University of Kentucky cross-country teams kicked off their 2002 schedule today by hosting the Woodford Trials in Versailles, Ky. The Kentucky women won their side of the draw with a score of 23, defeating visiting Eastern Kentucky University (35) and Marshall University (75), while the men combined to score 37 and came away with a second place finish. Eastern Kentucky University (26) finished ahead of UK to win the men’s event. Marshall (75) finished third, while the University of Louisville (80) rounded out the men’s field.
Kentucky junior Caity Phillips finished first on the women’s side in 11:44, three seconds better than EKU’s Tiffany Cartwright. Allison Grace, a UK freshman, crossed the finish line in 12 minutes flat, good enough for a third place finish. Wildcat junior Brooke Patterson finished fourth with a time of 12:16. Other UK women finishers included: Leah Kerstetter, 12:24 (6), Roseline Addo, 12:52 (10), Jackie Wagner, 12:58 (12), Karen Wartgow, 13:05 (16), Valerie Gefert, 13:18 (19), Candace Leep, 13:38 (22), Emily Kerr, 14:38 (27) and Anna Altmaier, 15:05 (30).
“Compared to last year at this time our girls performed very well,” head coach Don Weber said. “I saw some good things out there today and it made for a good start to our season.”
Sophomore David Freeman (left) and junior Kevin O’Connor placed 2nd and 3rd, respectively, in the 5,000 meter run |
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David Freeman, a sophomore for Kentucky, finished in second place for the men with a time of 15:57, while teammate Kevin O’Connor came in third in 16:02. Eastern Kentucky’s Alan Horton ran a top time of 15:42. Justin Amason finished with the third best time for UK with a sixth place finish in 16:25. Other Kentucky men crossing the finish line were: Chris Millisor, 17:00 (8), Paul Ciurlys, 17:37 (19), Andrew Thompson, 17:50 (22), Kristofer Landers, 17:54 (23), Patton Segraves, 18:10 (27) and Justin Bryant, 21:08 (36).
“The men showed me some encouraging things today,” said Weber. “This was David Freeman’s first race and he finished second, so that’s very encouraging. I thought Kevin O’Connor ran a good race today, also. There is a lot of room for improvement, but the potential is certainly there for us to get better.”
“Overall I feel good about what I saw out here,” added Weber. “This is a good event to get the season started and I think we showed enough to give us confidence in what we’re doing. I’m pleased with the way we ran today on both sides.”
The cross-country teams will be back in action on Saturday, September 21, when they travel to Bowling Green, Ky. for the Western Kentucky Oldtimers Classic.
