Nov. 19, 2002

GREENVILLE, N.C. – University of Kentucky women’s cross country junior Caitlin Phillips has earned a spot in the 2002 NCAA Championships after an 18th-place finish in the NCAA Southeast Regional on Saturday, Nov. 16 in Greenville, N.C.

Phillips, who ran the 6k race in 20:51.20 to lead UK, will make her first appearance in the NCAA title run. Last season at the regional, she finished 48th, falling short of a bid. Phillips earned All-Southeastern Conference honors earlier this month after leading Kentucky to a second-place SEC finish, its best performance in 13 years. She led three other Wildcats in the top 10.

The women finished eighth as a team at the regional this year. Fellow All-SEC members Allison Grace and Brooke Patterson were UK’s next finishers at 32nd and 35th, respectively. Freshman Leah Kerstetter was 63rd in the race, while senior Roseline Addo was 80th. Beth Heimann rounded out the team’s runners in 99th.

The men were not so fortunate at the regional, as UK’s only competitor, David Freeman, took 31st place with a time of 30:59.10 in the men’s 10k race. Freeman, who also earned All-SEC honors in Gainesville, Fla., earlier this month, did not qualify for the NCAA Championships.

The NCAA Championships will be run on Monday, Nov. 25 at Indiana State in Terre Haute, Ind. The women’s race gets underway at the Wabash Family Sports Center at 12 p.m. ET.